Courtesy Photo | Lt. Col. Kellan Travis, commander of Joint Base Lewis McChord's 2nd Battalion, 158th...... read more read more
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. – It was a hot afternoon on June 12 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and Tye Jones, 66, of Aberdeen, was stuck nearby on I-5 with an overheating truck pulling a trailer of shingles.
“The traffic was stop-and-go, and absolutely horrible, when I noticed my truck temperature started rising quickly,” he said. “Finally, steam started rolling out from under the hood, and the truck started dying.”
With barely enough room to get his trailer off the road, he pulled over and stopped near JBLM’s Lewis Main Liberty Gate exit. He was out of coolant, his wife was out of town, and he didn’t know anyone in the area.
“It was a dangerous spot,” he said. “It was hotter than heck, and I’m not real healthy anyway. I didn't feel like I could walk (to the next exit) and then carry water back with me, so I was just kind-of stuck, waiting for somebody to stop.”
He waited for an hour and a half in the heat.
Then, a little Nissan pulled up. Jones thought its driver was having car trouble, too.
“He got out of the car, and I noticed he was a soldier,” he said. “I felt relieved.”
It was Pfc. Ian Tate, of JBLM’s 2nd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. He was leaving work when he saw Jones, and said his religious beliefs led him to pull over.
“I was like, ‘I don’t want to leave this man just sitting out here,’” he said. “‘I can see he’s already pouring sweat, his hood was up on his car, and his hands were in his pockets.’”
Tate offered to lead Jones to a nearby gas station, but after a short time on the road, Jones had to pull over again. So, Tate jumped into action.
“He just went above and beyond,” Jones said. “He actually got in his car and got back into that gridlocked traffic, and drove down to the next place he could buy drinking water by the gallon. (He) bought me three gallons of drinking water out of his own pocket.”
They poured the water into Jones’s truck and found it was at least enough to get him to the nearest gas station. Tate followed him there, where they exchanged a goodbye wave and a thumbs-up.
Jones added one more gallon of water to his truck and made it home safely.
“He was very happy, to be honest,” Tate said. “It always feels good to help somebody. Of course, I don’t take any of the credit for it, you know. I just don’t.”
Tate’s unit recognized him for his actions with an Army Achievement Medal on July 13.
An Eastern Tennessee native who has been serving at JBLM for about six months, Tate said he wants “to have a good standard as a soldier.”
“I want people to see the Army and know that that’s what we stand for — if you see somebody, you help,” he said, adding that he also wants to stand up for his beliefs.
Jones spoke highly of Tate’s actions and character.
“I couldn’t believe how polite and helpful (Tate) was,” Jones said. “It’s moments like this that make me feel proud to be an American. I feel like we’re all in a better place with young men like Ian Tate … shaping our future.”
To learn more about JBLM, visit https://home.army.mil/lewis-mcchord/.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.16.2026 11:07 |
| Story ID: | 570070 |
| Location: | TACOMA, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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