Gunnery Sergeant Geann Pereira saving the world

Gunnery Sergeant Geann F. Pereira in Kabul, Afghanistan.

HMC Ret sends us a link to the Marine Corps Times which reports that Gunnery Sergeant Geann Pereira will be awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for what he did when a coalition Puma Mk 2 helicopter crashed near where he was working at Camp Resolute Support in Kabul on October 11, 2015;

The first person he pulled from the aircraft was dead. Using a bolt cutter, he freed two others, but they were unresponsive.

After the first five to 10 minutes, Pereira realized that the helicopter was leaking a lot of fuel and some of the wreckage was smoldering.

“There [were] some sparks around — I can’t really say it was fire, but there were definitely sparks and a lot of smoke,” Pereira said. “Staying in there, it was just hard to breathe with all the jet fuel and smoke all around you.”

Even though he was concerned the helicopter could explode at any moment, Pereira stayed inside for hours because he could hear one person who was still alive.

“I could hear him yelling for help, saying it was hard to breathe in there,” Pereira said. “I just kind of stayed there with him.”

You should read the rest of the story at the link. Also, I found an article about him and his sister who was also a Marine for eight years;

There are numerous reasons why a young man or woman would choose to join the military. For Vineyard siblings Genainna and Geann Pereira, natives of Brazil, the decision to enlist in the Marines arose out of a sense of gratitude for all that the United States, their adopted country, has provided to their family.

Gunnery Sergeant Geann Pereira, 33, Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School class of 2001, is currently stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan.

His sister, Genainna Pereira, served eight years in the Marine Corps prior to leaving the service in 2010.

Category: Marine Corps