Soldiers saving the world

Chief Tango sends us three stories about folks in the Army and in the National Guard who earned Soldiers Medals for saving folks in their respective communities, you know stories that aren’t about crazed gun men suffering from specters of their pasts – the stories you don’t usually read about soldiers these days. The first is about 24-year-old Wisconsin Guardsman Sergeant Michael C. Black who was at his pre-deployment training in New Mexico when he came upon an automobile accident;

But the Wisconsin soldiers soon discovered the passenger, Linda Hartman, a mother of two who had just finished her overnight security shift at the missile base, was dying.

Both of Hartman’s legs were broken and her femoral artery was severed from a compound fracture. Black ran to get his medical kit and quickly placed a tourniquet around her leg to stem the flow of blood, treating her for shock until paramedics arrived. Hartman also suffered four cracked ribs and a cracked sternum.

In Utah, Guardsman Staff Sergeant Robert Kelley happened to witness an airplane crash;

“I jumped out of my truck and headed over to the plane to get the occupants out,” Kelley said.

Three people were inside — two women and one man. Kelley introduced himself, unbuckled the seatbelt of one of the woman, pulled her out of the airplane and dragged her to safety. He returned to the assist the other woman, also dragging her to safety. He then helped the other man get the pilot out. The passengers suffered a range of serious injuries. A fire caused by the crash by then was spreading toward the cabin.

“As soon as we got him out, the plane went up in flames,” Kelley said.

Kelley told DVIDS reporters “Anyone would have done what I did if they had been there. My military training just kicked in.”

Last but not least, Spc. Christopher L. Grant, a paralegal specialist assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade; Pfc. Matthew M. Phillips, a cavalry Scout formerly assigned to 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team; and Pvt. Trenton M. Brown, a hydraulic repair specialist assigned to B Company, 277th Aviation Support Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade were all fishing the treacherous Black River near Fort Drum, New York when they witnessed a canoe capsize in the rushing current. They sprang into action to save the struggling sportsmen;

Realizing the distressed boaters needed immediate assistance, Grant ran to his truck to retrieve a 100-foot rope and immediately sprang into action.

The two Soldiers unraveled the rope, tied a heavy stick to the end for weight and made several attempts to throw it out to the couple, but came up short each time, the last attempt coming about 15 feet from them. By this time, Grant estimated the couple had been in the river nearly 15 minutes.

“As I attempted to throw the rope again, the back current caught them and started dragging them back towards the (boat) launch,” Grant said. “It was at this point that the male began trying to hold the female up, causing him to go under and take on water. We ran back from the dock to the launch, and I noticed the male go under.”

It was around this time when Phillips, a former lifeguard from St. Paul, Virginia, arrived at the Black River and immediately realized something wasn’t right.

Read the rest of the exciting story of the rescue at this link.

Americans sleep safely at night because these rough men are always on guard.

Category: Real Soldiers