The Good Samaritan

I'm so proud: my husband is a hero.

Last Wednesday, the first day of our blizzard, Austin had to take one of his soldiers to the courthouse. She was in some sort of dispute with her ex-husband over child support and Austin was going to testify to how the housing-allowance structure works in the military. On their way out of the courthouse, they saw 2 men fighting in the parking lot. Austin said he didn't think anything of it at first, and didn't see a need to involve himself, but then one of the men pulled out a knife and stabbed the other man 3 times before running off. Austin told the soldier to call 911 while he went over and administered first aid.

The man was stabbed just below one of his shoulder blades and twice in his forearm. I'm not sure what all was required as far as First Aid is concerned, but I know the man was disoriented and told Austin he didn't need his help, that he wanted to leave and drive to Fort Carson (over an hour away) to get medical care there. Austin told him he couldn't let him do that because he wouldn't make it down there while continuing to lose that much blood. The irony in the situation was that the stab victim was a Sergeant Major in the Army stationed at Fort Carson. That's the highest enlisted rank, 3 ranks above where Austin is. SGT Allen talked with the police when they arrived and they asked her to ride with them a few blocks to ID a suspect. She had given a license plate over the phone, so they had already found the suspect but they needed a positive ID. When she returned with the police officers the ambulance had already arrived to take the stab-victim to the hospital and Austin and Allen were done for the day. They've had to talk with the police a few times to give their statements, answer questions, and they've been told they may be subpoenaed to court if it goes that far.

While there was no great sacrifice on either of their part (Austin lost a tan undershirt in the ordeal...but seeing as he has about 30, I think we're ok) most would agree it was still a heroic act. Personally I'd like to think that I'd stop to help someone, but I also know that if I saw someone in a knife-fight the first thing on my mind would be to get myself to safety. If the stab victim were lying on the ground and the suspect had fled, maybe I'd stop and help. I know I'd call 911, but I'm not sure if I'd have to courage to help or not. Like I said, I'd like to have the courage - I just can't guarantee if I would or not.

Austin's first sergeant has put in paper work for Austin and SGT Allen to receive the Soldier's Medal. This is the highest honor you can receive during "peace time". Our country isn't in "peace time" but because they were not in an act of combat, it is still considered peace time. If you were to go to wikipedia and look up the military medals, this is the description you would see for the Soldier's Medal:
This medal is awarded for risking one's life to save another's. The medal is awarded in peacetime for actions of heroism held to be equal to or greater than the level which would have justified an award of the Distinguished Flying Cross if the act had taken place in combat, and involved actual conflict with an enemy. Any American servicemember who is eligible for retirement pay will receive an increase of 10 percent in retirement pay, if the level of valor was equal to that which would earn the Distinguished Service Cross.
I don't know if they'll get the medal or not. It has to go through a few levels of approval first. I know it has escalated to the Battalion Commander, though, because last night at the quarterly Hail and Farewell dinner the Battalion Commander stopped by our table and said, "How's it going Austin? Save any lives lately?" So I think its safe to say Austin is on his way to earning the honor of which I think he's deserving.

Austin won't let me call him a hero. He says that he was doing what he think any person should do in that situation, and what he hoped someone would do for him. I asked him what he thought it meant to be a hero, and he said he doesn't know. He said he doesn't have any heroes, and he doesn't know who he would classify as one, but he knows that he is not one. So I reminded him of the story of the Good Samaritan. He didn't remember the story, so last night we got his bible out and read it. I said "See, a priest and a Levite didn't even stop to help the man, but someone who should have been considered his enemy did." So I told him if I can't call him a hero, I'll call him a Good Samaritan.

And would you like to know his smart-ass reply? "Are you saying I'm the enemy of black people?"

In any case, whichever way you look at it, I think he's a hero - no matter what he says.