Marines awarded for rescuing Army parachutist [Image 1 of 2]

KANEOHE, HI, UNITED STATES

03.30.2016

Photo by Capt. Timothy Irish 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

Cpl. Justin Fugate marches back into formation after being awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for saving a U.S. Army parachutist that landed in the ocean and was trapped by coral and his own parachute. Fugate is a 2009 graduate of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio and serves as an Electro-Optical Ordnance Repairman.
Cpl. Lester Cano was awarded the same medal moments before. Cano and Fugate worked as a team on the rescue.
The Marines are assigned to Headquarters Company, 3d Marine Regiment and were awarded by Col. Carl Cooper and Sgt. Maj. Alfonso Via, March 30, on Marine Corps Base Hawaii. On Dec. 15, 2015 a U.S. soldier was blown off course from his drop zone by high winds and parachuted into the Pacific Ocean north of the Mokapu Peninsula that forms Marine Corps Base Hawaii on the island of Oahu. Fugate and Cano were running through the area during their Corporal's Course small unit leader evaluation. They noticed people pointing towards the water and then saw the parachutist. They worked together to develop a rescue plan. Cano improvised a safety line and swam 100 meters out to establish himself as the anchoring relay halfway between the trapped soldier and shore. Meanwhile, Fugate and a lifeguard spent the next hour swimming to reach the soldier where they then freed him from the entangled cordage and retrieved him to the shore. Once ashore, Cano rendered first aid and Fugate assisted until emergency medical services arrived.

• Date Taken: 03.30.2016
• Date Posted: 03.30.2016 22:33
• Photo ID: 2493619
• VIRIN: 160330-M-GC896-001
• Resolution: 3264x2448
• Size: 3.52 MB
• Location: KANEOHE, HI, US
• Hometown: CLEVELAND, OH, US