Breckenridge Texan

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Ruskan, center, was presented with the Legion of Merit award during the State of the Union address by President Donald Trump on, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. Accompanying Ruskan at the event was Milly Cate McClymond of Breckenridge, one of the 164 girls he rescued from the 2025 flood in central Texas. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)

By Alex Kielar/Breckenridge Texan

Eight months ago, 11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond of Breckenridge faced an unimaginable and harrowing situation while attending Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. Late last month, she was somewhere she never expected to be – at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address, sitting next to Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Ruskan, the Coast Guard rescue swimmer who saved her and many other girls from the flood that swept through the area.

Milly Cate McClymond, center, poses for a picture in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room with Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Ruskan, who rescued her from the July 2025 flood at Camp Mystic, and her parents, Nic and Courtney McClymond. (Courtesy Photo)

It was a moment set in motion by a chain of quiet connections: a friend’s outreach to the Coast Guard, an internal documentary, and the local news article I wrote last July that told her story. On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Milly Cate sat among some of the most recognizable names in the country and world, representing many of the girls who survived that early morning in July and standing on behalf of the brave and faithful survivors of the Camp Mystic and Texas Hill Country flooding.

Her friend Hallie had reached out to thank Ruskan, which sparked the pair to be interviewed for an internal Coast Guard documentary days before the address. They returned to Camp Mystic on Feb. 19-20 and walked the grounds with the Coast Guard media team, during which a Coast Guard officer told them the devastation was far worse in person than anything they had seen online. The July 4, 2025, flash flood killed at least 119 people in Texas, including 28 at Camp Mystic – 25 young campers, two counselors and camp director Dick Eastland.

The Coast Guard officer said that out of all national tragedies he had covered, “this one was the most tragic” he had ever encountered. The documentary will be released in July, marking the anniversary of the flood.

The documentary and the original article led the White House to reach out to Milly Cate and invite her to attend the State of the Union alongside Ruskan. It almost didn’t happen — when the White House tried to contact the McClymond family, the calls were flagged as spam at first. After several urgent texts from Coast Guard members telling the family to answer the phone, they finally picked up and heard the request.

In Washington, before the State of the Union Address, the family – Milly Cate and her parents, Courtney and Nic McClymond – and the other guests being honored that night were ushered into a small reception room for a private meet-and-greet with First Lady Melania Trump. The moment was unexpectedly personal. The First Lady noticed Milly Cate’s charm bracelet – each charm representing a cabin, an activity and a memory – and compared it to her own. She asked about the horses, the tennis racket, the silver M’s, and said she hoped to see Milly Cate again.

Then, a staffer of the First Lady stepped forward, drawn by the bracelet that she recognized instantly.

She was a Mystic girl too, and not just any Mystic girl. She had been a Big Three, one of the three counselors chosen each summer to guide the camp. At Camp Mystic, the Big Three are the steady leaders who guide the younger girls after lights-out and quietly carry the responsibility of caring for them.

In her official White House portrait, Milly Cate McClymond wears her charm bracelet featuring charms representing aspects of Camp Mystic. (Photo by Andrea Hanks)

For a moment, the East Wing felt smaller. Two Mystic girls, one grown and one still finding her footing after the flood, recognized each other across generations. It was a reminder that the connections formed at Camp Mystic stretch far beyond Hunt, Texas. The girls who survived the flood will carry that connection with them for the rest of their lives, no matter where they go. Not only that, but they will continue to carry the memories of the girls who didn’t survive.

In the hours before the address, Milly Cate and Ruskan reunited for the first time since the rescue.

“We saw him at the airport first,” she said. “When we landed, we got to talk to him.”

They spent most of Tuesday together. Ruskan remembered the girls clearly and told stories from that morning. He made jokes and kept the mood light — the same way he had during the rescue.

After the reception, the group was guided through a late-night tour of multiple rooms in different colors – each one softly lit and arranged as if waiting for the next chapter of history to unfold.

“We went through the Blue Room, the Green Room, the Red Room and the Yellow Room,” Milly Cate said.

The Red Room was warm and formal, lined with deep crimson fabrics and portraits that seemed to watch over the space. The Blue Room, oval and elegant, had its furniture arranged in perfect symmetry. The Green (silk) Room felt quieter, almost museum-like, with its soft walls and antique pieces arranged nicely. The Yellow Oval Room is the one that opens directly onto the front lawn.

As they moved from room to room, one detail caught Milly Cate’s attention more than the portraits or the chandeliers: the flowers. Every arrangement looked impossibly fresh, as if someone had just stepped away after placing the last stem.

“They hire a lady to come with fresh flowers,” she said. “Every day she comes in and replaces them.”

The florist appeared in the doorway with an armful of blooms, moving with the quiet confidence of someone who knows every inch of the building. The timing made everyone laugh as she walked in. Another cool aspect was that the florist told them that the flowers are called “Tweety,” also the name of Camp Mystic’s director, Tweety Eastland, Dick Eastland’s wife.

From there, the group was led down a long hallway lined with photographs and display cases. At the far end, they could see directly into the Oval Office, where President Trump was meeting with members of the U.S. Men’s Olympic team that won the gold medal. Milly Cate stood just feet away from athletes she had only ever seen on TV, and one of the girls next to her held a gold medal.

Inside the House chamber, Milly Cate sat directly behind the Trump family and shook their hands before the speech. The gallery turned toward them when President Trump told the story of the Camp Mystic rescue and honored Ruskan with the Legion of Merit award. Ruskan looked stunned; he had said earlier he wasn’t expecting to be recognized. He gave a small thumbs-up, and Milly Cate gave one back.

She wasn’t nervous, even with cameras and press all around her. “I couldn’t even see them,” she said. “They were all below me.” She said she felt honored to stand there “on behalf of everyone.”

“I didn’t really expect it,” Milly Cate said. “It was cool when they all turned around.”

When the speech ended, the pace immediately changed. Staff members lined the guests up and rushed them out of the chamber, moving them down four flights of stairs toward the waiting motorcade.

They were told plainly that if they didn’t make it into the motorcade, someone would help them Uber, as the President had to leave and leave quickly.

Moments later, they were speeding through Washington, D.C., at nearly 75 miles an hour, every intersection blocked by police cruisers. A five-minute drive turned into a 30-second one.

After the motorcade pulled back into the White House complex, the pace finally slowed as guests were guided to depart and go back to their hotels.

Back home in Breckenridge, people followed every update and were given hope by Milly Cate’s bravery and honor to stand for all the girls affected by the flood. Parents of other survivors texted her family; teachers checked in; and friends sent messages of support. The town that had prayed for her last summer now watched her represent something much larger than herself.

As she continues to get back on her feet, Milly Cate has stayed busy outside of the D.C. trip – volleyball tournaments, tennis, horse riding and staying connected with her cabin mates are all activities she has been involved with, finding comfort in the familiar rhythm of practices, games and after-school life.

The spotlight has never changed the center of the story – the community, the girls, the rescue, the loss and the slow work of healing.

When Milly Cate returned to Breckenridge after being somewhere she would’ve never thought she’d be eight months ago, she returned not as a symbol but as a survivor. One that is still finding her footing, still healing and still surrounded by a community that hasn’t stopped supporting her.

Cutline, top photo: The McClymonds — from left, Nic, Milly Cate and Courtney — visited the White House as part of their trip to Washington, D.C., for the State of the Union Address. During the annual speech, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Ruskan was awarded the Legion of Merit award for rescuing Milly Cate and dozens of other girls at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country during a flash flood last summer. (Courtesy Photo)