Photo By Lance Cpl. Andrea Cleopatra Dickerson | Maj. Gen. Jon M. Davis, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general, hosted a Heroes...... read more read more
Subscribe
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. -- Maj. Gen. Jon M. Davis, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general, hosted 11 2nd MAW Marines and Sailors from Marine Corps Air Stations Cherry Point, New River, and Beaufort, S.C., last Thursday in his home for what was declared a heroes dinner.
“I don’t consider myself any different from any other Marine,” said Cpl. Taneshia A. Bethea, a supply clerk with Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2. “I take our core values seriously because they are a part of my character. They were instilled in me at a very early age.”
The other Marines at the dinner echoed similar statements of humility about their heroic acts, but Davis insisted their deeds not go unnoticed as he recounted each Marine’s valiant story.
“All of your stories are very amazing,” he said. “You are true modern-day heroes. Some of you made choices that may not have been the most popular thing to do, or the most glamorous, but you made courageous choices. And for that, I am very proud of you.”
Before dinner was served with food donated by Harris Teeter in New Bern, celebrity chef Rick Tarantino, who prepared the evenings meal, spoke with the Marines and offered words of encouragement.
“Thank you for everything you do,” he said. “I love opportunities like this. It is such an honor to be here with you, doing what I love.”
Tarantino has appeared on numerous television shows and infomercials with other noteworthy chefs like Emeril Lagasse and the late Julia Child.
After dinner was served and guests polished their appetites with sorbet, Davis stood at the head of the table and reminded the Marines why they were chosen to attend the dinner designated for 2nd MAW heroes.
“It is Marines like you that help keep 2nd MAW a powerful fighting force,” he said. “Thank you for doing what I asked of you, which is the right thing at all times.”
As the attendees shifted their attention from their meals to Davis, they listened to him tell each Marine’s courageous story.
Lance Cpl. Corey J. Dixon, a supply clerk with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2, came to the aid of a fellow Marine after he began consuming alcohol after being involved in several incidents of misconduct. While trying to convince the Marine to stop, Dixon was violently retaliated against with an elbow to the chest.
“Even though Lance Cpl. Dixon possibly faced backlash from his peers, he made the right decision to not fight back and stay by the troubled Marine’s side,” said Davis.
Fellow Cherry Point-based Marine Cpl. Michael A. Strothers, an aviation communication systems technician with Marine Air Support Squadron 1, came to the aid of a civilian swimmer experiencing distress in rough waters around Virginia Beach, Va. Strothers was on leave at the time and noticed the swimmer having difficulty in the water. He and a fellow Marine put their lives at risk to swim out to calm the swimmer before bringing him back to safety. The swimmer said he might not have survived if Strothers had not come to his rescue.
Lance Cpl. Alexander S. Shugars, an ordnance technician with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 264, reported his roommate for smoking spice.
“We had a very bad drug problem here at one point. It got so bad that we almost burnt one squadron to the ground,” said Davis. “Thanks to this Marine having the courage to do the right thing in spite of what his peers might think, he helped uncover a major drug ring.”
“At first, it was hard to be around the Marines in my squadron,” said Shugars. They considered me a snitch, but eventually things got better once our entire unit started to combat the problem.”
Cpl. Matthew E. Adkins, a consolidated automated support system technician with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31, and his wife, Courtney, were spending time together at the beach at Hunting Island State Park, S.C. While there, Adkins noticed a man swimming with a flotation device caught in a rip current that pushed him approximately 200 yards away from the shore. Using the techniques that he mastered during the highest level of water survival training, Adkins swam to his aid and brought him back to shore.
“I want to thank my wife for making me go to the beach that day,” said Adkins. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.”
Lance Cpl. Taylor J. Sullivan, a loadmaster with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, was playing golf one day when he noticed a suspicious package fall out the back of a golf cart.
“At first I thought to myself ‘Hey I just got free golf balls!’ but after I picked up the package I noticed that it felt unusually light,” he said. “I knew that there was no way a box of golf balls could be that light. At that point I figured that there was spice or something else illegal in the package, so I knew that I had to alert the proper authorities.”
The box did, in fact, contain spice. Thanks to Sullivan’s efforts, the Marine that owned the package was prosecuted.
Sgt. Gregory G. Mosher, a logistics vehicle system operator with Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, was patrolling along a route in Helmand province with four embedded vehicles. While verifying his load was safe, a Georgian convoy approaching from the opposite direction detonated an improvised explosive device, causing mass destruction, which resulted in the injury of one of the Georgians. Mosher took charge of the situation and sent medical evacuation information to the convoy commander. Mosher also directed and instructed interpreters and Georgians on the scene so helicopters could successfully land and provide the Georgians the medical care they needed.
“I don’t really remember a lot about what I did, but I don’t think that what I did was that great,” Mosher said. “Any other Marine in my shoes would have done the same thing.”
Cpl. Taneshia A. Bethea got a call from a junior Marine one evening, asking if she could borrow Bethea’s laptop to watch some movies. The junior Marine was crying, and Bethea sensed that she needed to stay close to the Marine. She went to the Marine’s room and discovered the Marine attempting to harm herself. Bethea immediately got help for the Marine, thus saving her life.
Petty Officer Third Class April L. Lewis, a hospital corpsman with Marine Wing Support Squadron 274, was the lone Sailor recognized during the evening.
“What this Sailor did was so extraordinary,” said Davis. “Her bio isn’t just a standard story of the events that took place. Her entire bio is one person’s accounts of what she did.”
A local police officer was monitoring his radio one morning when he heard a dispatch call requesting the assistance of North Carolina Highway Patrol. The police officer said he responded to the call because it was in his jurisdiction.
“As I approached the Hibbs Road intersection, I did not immediately see a collision,” read the officers account. “As I looked further down the road, I noticed lights. As I pulled up I noticed a small red sedan in a ditch. In the back seat, I saw Lewis holding the head of the victim who was in the front seat. The driver was in the driver’s seat with his head facing down. Lewis conducted a visual assessment and saw no visible injuries. She then proceeded to hold up the victim’s head which prevented positional asphyxiation thus saving the life of the driver.”
Lance Cpl. Robin Dunn, an MCAS New River air traffic controller with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, drove by an accident on Nine Mile Road while on her way to work early one morning. A motorcyclist was struck by a truck while the truck was attempting to pass on the narrow two-lane road. Dunn located the victim and immediately began providing aid despite being exposed to poison oak located throughout the area. She took off the motorcyclist’s helmet and began to give the victim cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the paramedics arrived.
“I don’t think of myself as a hero,” said Dunn. “I think that anyone else would have responded the same way I did if they were put in my shoes. The only thing going through my mind at the time was ‘I hope he’s going to be OK.’”
Sgt. Stephanie K. St. Laurent, a billeting clerk with Marine Aircraft Group 31, based out of Beaufort, S.C., responded to an advertisement that a fellow service member posted requesting a kidney donor for his ailing wife who was diagnosed with fatal kidney disorder.
Without hesitation, St. Laurent responded and underwent testing to see if she was a positive match. When St. Laurent learned that she was a match, she volunteered to donate one of her kidneys. After the three-hour surgery, the transplant was a success.
“This Marine did a very selfless thing,” said Davis. “I don’t think that even I would have had the courage to do something like that. It’s not every day that people are willing to risk their lives. Her selflessness set the example for all Marines to emulate.”
Lance Cpl. Steven B. Craven, an air traffic controller with H&HS aboard Cherry Point, went above and beyond the call of duty to assist with an Honor Flight, Sept. 11, 2011.
His duty shift ended late that night, and he received a call to assist the aircraft after the plane was unable to land at its intended destination, Coastal Carolina Regional Airport. Craven consulted his chain of command for guidance, and began making other phone calls to make sure that there would be proper equipment and personnel on the ground to assist passengers once they landed.
“Craven was there in the tower and also on the ground to ensure that plane landed safely and the veterans made it off the aircraft unharmed,” said Davis. “He acted way above his pay grade that night.”
“I don’t think that what I did was really that special,” Craven said. “I was just doing my job.”
One Marine was not able to attend the dinner due to his wife going into labor.
“He deserves a lot of recognition nonetheless,” Davis said of Cpl. Jeremy R Sherwood, a helicopter mechanic with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 269, based at MCAS New River. Sherwood came to the aid of a helicopter crew whose aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Patrol Base Wolfpack in Helmand province, Afghanistan. After impact, the helicopter became engulfed in flames. Sherwood sprinted over to the wreckage and attempted to secure the left engine’s fuel switches and throttles while the engine was still running. When this measure failed, Sherwood raced to find a fire bottle attempting to help extinguish the flames coming from the wreckage. The fire bottle was inoperable, therefore Sherwood had to think quickly to find a solution. With the help of two other Marines, he was able to fight the fire using water bottles, saving the life of the helicopter’s wounded pilot.
After an evening of awe-inspiring stories recognizing the heroic actions of what Marines felt was their duty, each could leave with an even greater sense of pride in what they stand for as a Marine and Sailor.
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.26.2012 11:24 |
| Story ID: | 82857 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 361 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, General hosts heroes cited for valiance, by LCpl Andrea Cleopatra Dickerson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT