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Red Cross honors Travis Airmen for saving lives

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  One individual and two groups from Travis were recently honored at the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter's Solano County Heroes Breakfast for saving lives.

Senior Airman Ryan Reyes, 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, seven members of the 60th Maintenance Group and six individuals from the 21st Airlift Squadron received awards at a banquet held Sept. 23 at the waterfront park in Suisun City, Calif.

The annual breakfast is "our way of saluting local heroes," said Joan Kelley-Williams, Red Cross station manager and Travis director. "The breakfast salutes people stepping up and taking responsibility for other members of the local community. They're all so modest. They didn't give their actions a second thought."

Senior Airman Ryan Reyes
Red Cross members bestowed the Act of Courage honor upon Reyes, who helped an individual in a car-accident receive first aid. Shortly after returning from a deployment to Afghanistan, Reyes drove past an accident. A vehicle had rolled over and pinned a passenger between the dashboard and windshield. With the vehicle unstable and on its side, Reyes climbed inside to give the passenger first aid. When paramedics arrived on scene, Reyes remained in the vehicle and helped extricate the passenger.

60th Maintenance Group
Seven members of the 60th MXG were recognized with a Life Saving award for their efforts in saving the life of Airman Basic Jerald Bushon.

While eating during a group barbecue in the squadron's break room in November 2010, Bushon stood up, making gurgling sounds and emitting small puffs of air. Master Sgt. Duncan Ballantyne and Senior Master Sgt. James VanNostrand, both of the 945th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, noticed and began to administer the Heimlich maneuver. Tech. Sgt. Larry Kight, 860th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, called emergency responders, remaining on the phone throughout the incident.

Multiple individuals, including Tech Sgt. James Sanders, Master Sgt. Michael Copeland, Master Sgt. Matthew Moore and Tech. Sgt. Jay Voytek, all from the 860th AMXS, took turns hoping that a taller individual would have better leverage in dislodging the food from the airway of Bushon, who Copeland estimated to be around 6-foot-3-inches tall.

Several minutes after the incident began, Bushon was on the verge of unconsciousness and turning blue. The 60th MXG members moved him to the floor, using stomach thrusts and putting their fingers in his mouth to free his airway, which finally dislodged the blockage. Soon, emergency personnel arrived, gave Bushon oxygen and transported him to David Grant USAF Medical Center.

"It took everything we had," Copeland said. "He's a tall individual himself, so we just took turns to try to get enough oomph behind him. It's a lesson not to just stand idly by and let that type of incident happen."

21st Airlift Squadron
Six people from the 21st AS were given a Life Saving Award for their actions in August while flying above the nation.

On their way back to Travis from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, via Fort Campbell, Ky., Senior Master Sgt. Alton Prayer, a loadmaster, noticed family members surrounding a 2-year-old girl who was having a seizure. When Prayer saw the girl's eyes roll into the back of her head, Prayer alerted other members of the crew and the decision was made to make an emergency landing.

Capt. Jonathon Hansen and 1st Lt. Andrew Wuebold diverted the plane to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. Staff Sgt. Michael Burk coordinated with emergency forces on the ground to make sure they were at the plane to administer aid as soon as the aircraft landed.

The girl came out of the seizure and was given Capt. Timothy Ober's Tylenol while Prayer and Airman 1st Class Taylor Schuster-Steiner gave first aid to the girl. Despite their efforts, the girl had a second seizure, Prayer said. This time, the 2-year-old lost consciousness briefly, with her father, a retired Air Force member, administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The girl regained breath and consciousness immediately before landing.

"It was a pretty hectic couple of minutes," Hansen said. "Any time you have the ability to reach out and help your fellow man or a civilian counterpart, it's one of the more value-adding experiences you can have in the United States military."

Prayer credited his training with helping him and the crew get through the situation.

"It paid huge dividends in this situation," he said. "Remaining calm and trying to have your wherewithal about you, that goes a long way with people experiencing traumatic situations."