So the castaways gathered palm fronds from the 31-acre island, arranged them to spell out “HELP” on the beach, and waited, according to a Coast Guard statement. The names of the stranded men have not been released by the Coast Guard, and CNN attempts to contact their relatives have not gotten replies. When the Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry reached Pikelot on April 9, the story took another twist. “He couldn’t believe I’m with the Coast Guard trying to rescue them.”The man was a third cousin, the others fourth cousins, he said. “It could be coincidence,” said Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir, public affairs officer for US Coast Guard Forces Micronesia.

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Persons: Sgt, Richard Ebensberger, Chelsea Garcia, ” Garcia, Oliver Henry, Eugene Halishlius, Halishlius, ” Halishlius, ”, Sara Muir Organizations: CNN, US Navy, Coast Guard, US Coast Guard, Guard, Hawaii Air National Guard, Federated, Kadena Air Base, Navy, Coast Guard HC, Air, Coast, US Coast Guard Forces Micronesia, US Air Force, Andersen Air Force Base, Australian Locations: Micronesia, Pikelot, Guam, Polowat, Federated States, Pacific, Philippines, Hawaii, Okinawa, Japan