Abstract:
On paper, particularly newspaper, what Captain Bernice Balance might be best known for was his bravery. This characteristic was chiefly expressed during his career in the Life Saving Service, now called the Coast Guard. The life-saving incident that made the papers was his role in the rescue of Coast guardsmen adrift after a hurricane struck the North Carolina coast in September 1944. Incidents perhaps just as worthy of print included his catch of a seventy five pound channel bass, touted as the "world's record for drum caught in the surf."