Marine Sgt. Justin Erler and Cpl. Matthew Dungan earn Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal

We discussed Marine Master Sergeant Hector Trujillo who stopped on his way to work to rescue a local from his burning car. The Master Sergeant was subsequently struck by a passing military truck and needed rescuing himself. That’s when Marine Sergeant Justin Erler and Corporal Matthew Dungan arrived on the scene and, thanks to their Marine Corps training, they were able to save Truillo’s life.
The Marine Corp was quick to reward the pair with Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, according to Stars & Stripes;
Trujillo “is alive today, absolutely, 100 percent because of the actions of these two individuals [Erler and Dungan],” III MEF commander Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson said during the ceremony. “That is the only reason he is alive … these are two great young Marines that stood up and made a difference when it counted.”
Though Trujillo’s condition has slowly improved and he is now breathing on his own and responding to his wife, Maria, the fact that he is still recovering from grievous injuries hardly left his rescuers in the mood for celebrating.
Category: Marine Corps
Semper Fidelis!!
BZ to these two Marines!
Well deserved!
OOHRAH!! Great work Devil Dogs!!
Well done, Marines. Damn well done.
I am a Navy man, but I love the USMC.
VR & BZ from,
Richard Weed
Amen, me too! I went thru the devil pups camp when I was young, so appreciate Marines, but again, thats why I joined the Navy LOL
Great job, Marines.
Well done Marines. Very proud of you.
I know they would rather that MSG Trujillo be 100% now, but SGT Erler and Corp Dungan can be assured that without their actions he would be dead. They’ve given him a fighting chance – which is all any man needs.
Great work, gentlemen! It’s hard to work on a patient and have them slowly recover (or worse, die) cause you feel like you didn’t do enough. However these guys really did do more than expected and everything they could to save the good master sergeant. ,
BZ!
OUTSTANDING!
I’m wondering about the driver that hit MSgt Truillo. If it was negligence or just bad luck all around eg., squeezed between opposing traffic and what ever was on the side of the road.
Damned well done Marines. We are more than proud of you. You Marines are who set the bar high.
I’ll never forget one time I came upon a bad car accident and two old gentlemen went thru the windshield. I was first on scene and gave them first aid until the paramedics arrived. I used the entire first aid kit in my phone company truck. I did save their lives, but I was punished by my supervisor because I used the kit on a non-employee! I didn’t care, I was happier the two old boys survived!
I had a woman barrel role her Harley in front of me on the interstate. I stopped her head wound from bleeding out, stabilized her and kept her awake until the EMT showed up. Sucks to see a young lady bleeding from the eyes. My company was pissed I was late for my delivery and never said anything about it. I know how you feel.
Hummm sounds like that idiot supervisor went to work for the VA!
well done …semper fi Marines