Photo By 2nd Lt. Jason Grabiec | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. William A. Patrick, right, superintendent of plans and...... read more read more
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PEORIA, IL. (April 2, 2022) – Having a child kidnapped is among the worst feelings that a parent can have, but due to the heroic actions of a police officer this one was saved.
This is how U.S. Air Force Col. Daniel McDonough, 182nd Airlift Wing commander described the actions of Master Sgt. William Patrick, superintendent of plans and programs with the 182nd Security Forces Squadron, as he received the Tech. Sgt. Brian C. McMillen Memorial Enlisted Security Forces Award.
“Sgt. Patrick did some truly heroic things and it’s just awesome,” said McDonough. “He realized how dire that situation was and assessed the situation. I'm sure he would not like me talking about him as a hero, but there's no other way to put it. He saved that girl's life. Amazing.”
During the award ceremony, the events of Patrick’s heroic actions were recanted by the 182nd Security Forces Squadron.
“While working for the Stanford Police Department, Master Sgt. Patrick voluntarily responded to a suspicious vehicle complaint in the rural area of McLean County, and quickly identified a felony suspect who had kidnapped a five year old girl. Knowing he had no time to wait for assistance, Patrick placed himself at personal risk and pragmatically extricated and arrested the suspect and defused the situation. Based on the completed investigation, Sgt. Patrick's actions undoubtedly saved the young girl's life.”
Patrick serves as a part time Stanford Police deputy when off duty for the 182nd.
“It's an honor to have a member like that in our who can represent what we do and Sgt. Patrick definitely excels at that,” said Air Force 1st Lt. Gregory Clampitt, commander of the 182nd Security Forces Squadron. “It is truly an honor to have somebody like Sgt. Patrick in the squadron to represent our core values. Service before self is definitely one of those things he represents and it ended up saving that little girl's life.”
Members in the 182nd Security Forces Squadron partake in strenuous training which helps prepare them for potential situations they might find themselves in on or off duty.
“It's awesome to have someone like Sgt. Patrick in the squadron because he shows younger Airmen what can potentially happen and how to use our training in action,” said Clammpit. “He’s just such a great example of what we do here in order to excel, not just in the squadron in the military, but outside in your personal life as well.”
Patrick attributes the initial phone call from a concerned citizen as being the main act that initiated this sequence of events and strongly encourages individuals to make reports when something seems unusual.
“Here on the installation here we use the Eagle Eyes program, which is basically see something, say something,” said Patrick. “I do the same thing with the public and make sure to tell them that no matter how little, no matter how out of place it seems, if it just doesn't seem right to you, give us a call. We'll come out, we'll check it out. And thankfully the citizen that called us in saw that this vehicle is out of place and called it in just looked a little weird to him. I honestly don't think that the five year old girl would have been recovered safely without that citizen driving by and taking the time to call it in. I actually have a five-year-old girl who is the same age as the girl that was in the car. So this one this one hit close to home for me.”
| Date Taken: | 04.02.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2022 16:27 |
| Story ID: | 417742 |
| Location: | PEORIA, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 3,120 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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