I love this story. Just another example of how our Marines step up no matter where they are!

Thanks to RCT-1 for the story:

Editor’s note: The post below is a letter written by a witness during the heroic acts of the Navy corpsmen with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, at an airport during their trip home from Habbaniayh, Iraq.

I hope you read this after you’ve had some much needed leave time. I wanted to brief you on the medical situation involving four corpsmen at the MSP (Minneapolis-Saint Paul International) airport, on Feb. 12, 2008, during a stop over from Iraq, en route to Camp Pendleton, CA.

Around 6:00 PM, approximately 100 Marines (with 1 Battalion/1Marine Regiment) were exiting through the F.I.S. area, on their way to baggage claim for a smoke. About the same time, a sixty-three year old female passenger from NWA 55, was waiting in the US Customs line (with her family) when she passed out.

All of a sudden, a male voice yelled “CORPSMAN”… and four Navy docs came running. When they saw the woman lying on the floor, the “docs” went into action … they cared for her as if she were a fallen comrade. Corpsman Douglas called out the procedures, while they all worked on her (with the assistance of Airport Police). Even though the woman had vomited everywhere, the doc’s didn’t hesitate to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (without the plastic cover used by paramedics), perform chest compressions and used a defibrillator.

We always hear about the heroic actions of the medics and docs in a combat zone …but to witness them in action (as a passenger in a airport) is simply amazing. Everyone in the immediate area from the US Customs agents to the NWA employees were very impressed with the speed and quality of care provided by the navy corpsmen listed below, on the last leg of their long journey home.

It wasn’t until after the paramedics arrived, the docs were able to clean up. Unfortunately, we were only able to provide them with basic toiletries (tooth brush, toothpaste, mouth wash, etc.) since, the Marines were limited to the NWA G6 gate area. However, I took the liberty of collecting their contact information and forwarded it to all concerned at MSP, to help ensure they are acknowledged for their “continued” service to our country.

Go and give RCT-1 some love and thank them for their service. They’ve got a good blog going on MySpace with stories about all the great things they’re doing in Iraq to help Iraqi’s.

Technorati Tags: USMC, Iraq, RCT-1, MSP International Airport, Mpls, St. Paul, Support the Troops

2 Responses to “Marines to the rescue at Mpls/St. Airport”