Maj. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell, commander of U.S. Army Japan, awards Maj. Robert Bourgeau the Soldier’s Medal on Friday, June 9, 2023, during the 248th Army Birthday Ball at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — A U.S. Army officer has received the service’s highest noncombat award for heroism after rescuing three people from an Okinawa rip current that killed a well-known Japanese manga artist.

Maj. Robert Bourgeau, 50, was awarded the Soldier’s Medal on Friday at Kadena for his actions July 4 at Mermaid’s Grotto, a popular and sometimes treacherous dive spot. The Montana native braved rough surf to rescue a Japanese woman, her 11-year-old daughter and a 39-year-old U.S. soldier.

Maj. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell, commander of U.S. Army Japan, said he was “honored” to recognize Bourgeau for his bravery. Vowell gave Bourgeau the medal in front of 300 people at the 248th Army Birthday Ball.

“His strength and stamina were gone, and he barely made it back to the shore,” Vowell said. His actions were “the very definition of heroism — laying his own life at risk to help others.”

Kazuki Takahashi, 60, creator of the popular Japanese manga series “Yu-Gi-Oh!,” attempted to aid Bourgeau in the rescue, unbeknownst to the American, and drowned in the process. His body was recovered two days later off the Okinawa shore.

“It's a complete honor that my command would think that what I did was worthy of getting this award,” Bourgeau said after being pinned at the Rocker Enlisted Club. “When I was in the water, I didn't know if I was going to make it out.”

Maj. Robert Bourgeau was awarded the Soldier’s Medal on Friday, June 9, 2023, during the 248th Army Birthday Ball at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

Bourgeau, then deputy operations officer for the 10th Support Group at Torii Station, left the island after the rescue for U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. His old command invited him back to Okinawa as the birthday ball’s guest of honor.

The Soldier’s Medal was established by Congress in 1926 to recognize acts of heroism “not involving actual conflict with an enemy,” according to the Army’s website. The act must include personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life.

On July 4, Bourgeau, a scuba diving instructor, met a pair of students at around 2 p.m. for a lesson at the popular dive spot, he told Stars and Stripes in October. The conditions were rough, so Bourgeau decided not to dive.

He said he spotted a Japanese woman calling for help and pointing toward her daughter and the soldier, who were trapped in a rip current about 100 yards from shore.

The outgoing current and incoming 6-foot waves created a whirlpool effect that trapped the snorkelers.

Bourgeau rescued the daughter and her mother but was too exhausted to bring in the soldier. With Borgeau’s last bit of strength, he reached a ledge and directed the soldier out of the whirlpool and onto the shore.

At some point, Takahashi entered the water, Bourgeau said, but he didn't see the Japanese icon during the ordeal. Bourgeau's students caught glimpses of him until he disappeared beneath the waves.

Takahashi’s popularity among manga fans turned the rescue, and his death, into international news.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Takahashi went in and tried to help the people and he passed away,” Bourgeau said Friday. “If I had known he was out there, I would have done everything I could to help him go out.”

Maj. Robert Bourgeau poses with his wife, Dawn, after receiving the Soldier’s Medal on Friday, June 9, 2023, during the 248th Army Birthday Ball at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)