WASHINGTON - With the light touch of a warm and loving mother, the United States Coast Guard carefully nudged an adult sperm whale out of the Potomac River and all the way back to the Atlantic. This heart-warming and tender incident played out over the course of 27 grueling, but truly magical, hours beginning Monday and carrying on into the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Crowds numbering in the thousands gathered along the banks of the river to watch as the rescue unfolded. During the entirety of the operation, which was a delicate and stressful situation for all involved, the Coast Guard team did their utmost to ensure that the whale was kept in a sense of ease, playing low, soothing tones over the ship's megaphone and guiding the way with the lightest of taps from the prow. At several points throughout the long endeavor, the vessel was even reported to have pulled alongside the animal, so as to allow several crew members to climb out and give it a back rub while cooing and whispering sweet nothings. While most agree the whale is unlikely to have understood the significance of these niceties, it is difficult not to appreciate the labors of love undertaken on this majestic animal’s behalf.

How the forty-two ton marine mammal came to be swimming in the Potomac, which is a body of fresh water, remains somewhat of a mystery. Derek Fergell, one of the Coast Guards involved in the proceedings, has offered his theory.

“It was in need of love―our love,” said a drenched and exhausted Fergell shortly after the whale had disappeared back into the ocean, “there was something absent in its life out there and the ol’ boy had to come upstream to find the missing piece.” With a faint smile he added, “I hope we were able to help with that.”

Many are already calling it one of the greatest and most inspiring rescues in Coast Guard history. Coast Guard Commandant Paul F. Zukunft has called the crew of the boat who worked so long and hard to return the whale to the ocean, “some of the finest men the Coast Guard has to offer,” and has recommended them for the Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation.

At press time, Australian film director Craig Gillespie announced that he had already begun penning a sequel to his recently released Coast Guard drama, The Finest Hours, to be based on the heroic and inspiring story of a bond between man and whale in the tides of the Potomac.