Lt. Col. John Hall saving the world
Stars & Stripes tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel John Hall, a 53-year-old Michigan Guardsman serving with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Italy who was enjoying a family outing at a swimming hole on the Astica River in Italy when he saw an Italian man struggling in the water;
“I thought something has to happen right now. I thought I’m the only guy in a position to do something,” Hall said in an interview Friday. “So I just jumped.”
He spread his arms wide as he descended in his shorts, Hawaiian shirt, shoes and socks, he said. Then he started swimming.
“I came up from behind him and I just wrapped my arm around his throat and immediately turned into a sidestroke. I popped him on my hip,” Hall said. “He completely quit fighting. I think he’d given up at that point. The look in his eyes — he was in shock or terrified.”
Hall swam the man to the steep riverbank and along with the other two Italians helped push him up the rocks to safety.
Hall credits his paratrooper training for his heroic rescue;
“We’re asked to drop into situations where we don’t have all the support — so we have to be very agile,” Hall said. “You have to go into it with a great deal of confidence, and that’s what I did. By the grace of God it turned out well for everybody.”
Category: Army News
Very dangerous to save a drowning man by swimming to them but the LTC did it right.
Nice gig too for the Michigan NG!
Ballsy move, but unless one is trained in water rescue, take a second and look around for flotation and grab it, THEN go if you must.
Reach throw row and go was what was taught in my youth. Ballsy move by the Lt Col. Glad everything worked out for all.
Isn’t 53 a little old to be jumping out of perfectly good airplanes?
He’s obviously making good use of his Old Man Strength.
Badass. Rescue swimming is one of the scarier and riskier things out there.
Heh. They never taught us the “arm around the throat” hold in Helo Rescue Swimmer School. I believe using that technique would make one a Person of Interest to the SAR instructors.
Never be a Person of Interest to the SAR instructors.
It’s a wonder he could swim with those Big Brass Ones.
BZ, sir, BZ.