Photo By Staff Sgt. Janae Masoner | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Chet Lindstrom, retired, receives the Military Vanguard...... read more read more
Chet Lindstrom was recognized at the Sound of Speed practice show for life-saving actions he performed while still serving at the 139th Airlift Wing.
On the night before Thanksgiving in 2017, Chet Lindstrom was driving to work at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base. At the time he was a master sergeant assigned to the 139th Security Forces Squadron. As he was driving across the Pony Express Bridge he noticed a man standing near the edge.
“It just didn’t seem right,” thought Lindstrom.
He called 911 just before he stopped to talk to the man. After talking with him, Lindstrom learned the man planned to commit suicide.
Immediately, Lindstrom thought of the previous suicide awareness training he recieved at the 139th Airlift Wing. He knew that distraction was his best strategy until the police arrived. Lindstrom started asking the man about his family and learned he had three kids.
Later that evening, the St. Joseph Police Department informed Lindstrom the man had serious plans to commit suicide and he had saved his life.
“When I’m out messing around, driving, or going someplace, and I see somebody, even walking, across a bridge I always take a double-look,” Lindstrom explains. “The one thing that really stuck out to me about that situation is his kids. I don’t know how many times I’ve thought about, throughout the years, that if [he] did what he was going to do those kids would be going through the holiday season without their dad.”
Lindstrom received the Military Vanguard Award for this heroic act at the Sound of Speed practice air show. He has served at the 139th for 30 years.
The Non-Commissioned Officers Association awards the Military Vanguard Award annually to a single member from each of the Armed Services. These recipients are awarded for their acts of heroism, based on a sense of duty and the belief that the common good is more important than the individual.
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2021 16:54 |
| Story ID: | 398242 |
| Location: | ST. JOSEPH, MO, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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