Serving on the Forgotten Frontier

ROK Drop

August 20th, 2008 at 1:36 pm

US Soldiers Save Several Koreans from Potential Explosion

A couple of US soldiers stationed in Jinhae are being recognized for their part in saving South Korean civilians from a traffic accident:

Two U.S. service members helped save several South Koreans from a potential explosion in the southern city of Busan on Tuesday when six vehicles, including a truck carrying large fuel cans, crashed on a local street, officials from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said.

Justin Simons, a U.S. Navy reservist from St. Louis, and Army PFC Cory Graham from the 25th Transportation Battalion stationed in the southern city of Daegu were the first to rush to the accident site to pull the injured drivers out of the vehicles, they said.

“Graham and Simons helped the driver (of the truck) escape from the vehicle because the engine was smoking and they feared a fire,” the USFK said in a press release. Simons, a petty officer, is here for a week-long joint exercise of U.S. and South Korean forces, which began Monday.

The two, who work at a joint reception center in Jinhae, a city just west of Busan, were on their way to the Busan train station, apparently to pick up arriving U.S. soldiers, according to USFK officials.

At least three people were seriously injured and were later taken to a nearby hospital after the U.S. service members called the 119 rescue center with the help of a Korean passerby working as an interpreter, they said.

“They also provided emergency medical treatment until an ambulance arrived. Graham used his undershirt and applied pressure to help stop bleeding on one victim,” the USFK said. [Yonhap]

Great job by each of these guys that only adds to the ever growing list of good things USFK soldiers do in Korea.

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5
  • nospam
    10:37 pm on August 20th, 2008 1

    Shame on you GI!

    Petty Officers are sailors, not soldiers.

    If you raise the issue to most Navy folks, they are often eager to distance themselves from all things Army and Air Force.

  • CPT Kim
    6:13 am on August 21st, 2008 2

    Its nice to see a heroic story coming out of 25th Trans Bn in Taegu for a change.

  • chefantwon
    6:44 am on August 21st, 2008 3

    The Air Force folks like to distance themselves from the Navy and the Army. :lol: The Army people build the bases and we (AF folks) drink the beer. :lol:

  • DMZDave
    12:31 am on August 22nd, 2008 4

    I am so glad you keep a running log of all the good things the military does in Korea. It’s a great resource. Not only would you make a great Foreign Affairs Officer but you’re a pretty darn great Public Affairs Officer as well. In an earlier post, I discussed the bad things that can happen to soldiers who stop to render assistance (”if you weren’t at fault, why would you stop?) but concluded that despite the potential downside, Americans will continue to render assistance - it’s what we do.

  • Brian
    11:13 am on August 22nd, 2008 5

    Off topic, but have you seen this: http://copyranter.blogspot.com/2008/08/iwo-jima-dead-bled-again-this-time-in.html

 

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