First Army Division East Soldier awarded for saving lives

Photo By Amburr Reese | Sgt. 1st Class James Wilson, Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center Pharmacy noncommissioned officer in charge, (center) tells the story of how Chief Warrant Officer 3 Cenise Ellison, of First Army Division East, (left) and Staff Sgt. Karen O'Sullivan, an instructor at the Defense Information School, saved the lives of himself and Lt. Col. Michael Yapp after a severe automobile accident on April 18, 2013. Ellison and O'Sullivan each received the U.S. Army Safety Guardian Award for their quick thinking after witnessing the accident. (Photo by Navy Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Zach Allan)  

FORT MEADE, MD, UNITED STATES

08.13.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Stephen Crofoot 

First Army Division East

FORT MEADE, Md. - Selfless Service is a guiding principle of the Army that Soldiers learn early on and try to live by. It becomes engrained in them to place the needs of others above their own.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Cenise Ellison, the property book manager for First Army Division East, demonstrated the true sense of selfless service on April 18, 2013, when she and Staff Sgt. Karen O’Sullivan, an instructor at the Defense Information School, came across an auto accident and immediately acted.

“There was a truck that flipped through the air. I went and checked on the driver, and he said he was fine but the people in the other car needed help. I looked over at the second car and saw the urgency behind helping those people because their car was destroyed,” Ellison recalled. “I was able to get the other driver out and get him on the sidewalk and stabilized. We then went to check on the passenger. The passenger was in really bad shape.”

Ellison said this is where her years of Army training, by always being ready and trained, she was able to act without hesitation.

“At first, I thought he was dead, but I checked his pulse and as I was doing that, he woke up. At that point, I realized that he was in really bad shape, and needed to be removed from the car. The problem was I wasn’t able to move him, so I just sat there and kept asking him questions and doing everything I could to keep him awake until paramedics arrived. We also were able to work on the Soldier that we pulled out of the car. We bandaged him up and controlled the bleeding.”

At no point did Ellison’s personal safety ever enter her mind.

“I never thought to myself, this car may blow up. All I could think of was the well-being of those people. As a Soldier, my job is to protect, defend and assist. If I am able to go over to Iraq and defend the rights and liberties of all people, then I should be willing to do the same here at home.”

For her part in saving the lives of the two Soldiers, Ellison was awarded The Army Safety Guardian Award, which is given to someone for their quick response after witnessing an accident.

“I was honored to receive this award, but on the same note, I couldn’t understand why I received it. I was simply doing what I’m supposed to do. It’s like a firefighter who goes into a burning building. As much as I appreciate being recognized, it really wasn’t necessary. I was doing my job.”

Ellison agrees that it is a Soldier’s responsibility to serve and assist but offers, “It’s just who I am as a person and a Soldier.”

Ellison stands as a first-rate Soldier of First Army Division East and as an example to all of us.

• Date Taken: 08.13.2014
• Date Posted: 08.13.2014 16:53
• Story ID: 139240
• Location: FORT MEADE, MD, US