Army veteran Joshua Curtis, 38, was with his family at the main beach when his son and niece got caught in a strong rip current, his family said. Curtis successfully rescued the children; however ...

Emergency responders were alerted around 7:15 p.m. about swimmers in distress at a beach on the east edge of Fernandina Beach, a city on Florida’s Amelia Island, police said.

Joshua Curtis, who spent 15 years in the Army and earned the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, died rescuing his niece and son from a current during a trip to Fernandina Beach.