On the night of June 30, 1973, a woman visiting the HMCS Skeena fell from the jetty into the harbour at Campbellton, New Brunswick. The woman's husband jumped immediately into the water in an attempt to help her. Cpl. Joseph White, witnessing the mishap, leaped from the deck into the narrow space between the ship and the dock. He grasped the woman and guided her to the jetty ladder but she, knowing that her husband was in the water, struggled to get free and the rescuer was obliged to hold her securely until others lifted her to safety. Cpl. White then began searching for the man, but failed to find him in the darkness. The rescuer put on a wet-suit and continued the search which he was finally forced to abandon.