Son Accepts Award for Heroic Officer

With a quiet “Thank you,” 10-year-old Barrett Korber on Thursday accepted the Officer of the Year award from the California Boating Officers Assn. on behalf of his father.

All eyes were on the boy during a memorial to his father, former Ventura Harbor Patrol Officer Paul Korber, who died in March 1998 south of the harbor rescuing a mother and her two sons from heavy rip currents.

Harbor Patrol Officer Scott Miller described to the audience of about 100 how Korber jumped in to save the family, and how the strong current made it impossible to save himself. It was near the same spot where Korber used to take his son swimming.

Barrett is no stranger to grief. Two years before the death of his father, Barrett’s mother Cynthia died of cancer.

Moving to the microphone, Barrett, who lives in Lompoc with an aunt, smiled. He invited the crowd to visit the 7-foot-tall memorial to his father, unveiled Thursday on the sands where Korber took his last breath, directly across from the yacht club on Spinnaker Drive.

Later, with a proud smile, Barrett said, “My dad’s a hero.”