thedrifter
02-12-06, 07:45 AM
Local Marines were the ‘angels’ who helped save a lady’s grandson
February 12,2006
CAROLYN ALFORD
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Hello, friends and neighbors. It is good to see you here.
Marine corporals Joe Fontenot and David Salmonsen of HMT-302 aboard New River Air Station were in Greenville the rainy evening of Jan. 14. It was just after midnight and the pair had gotten in a taxi to take them back to the hotel when a pedestrian was struck on Charles Boulevard. The victim, whose name is being withheld on the advice of the family’s attorney, was lying on the pavement face down bleeding profusely.
Fontenot and Salmonsen got out of the taxi and ran over to check the victim, they said in a telephone interview last week. He was still breathing.
“We walked up to him, there was blood all over the place,” Salmonsen said. “His arm looked like it was completely off. We took off our shirts, put over the wounds and held pressure. It wasn’t working. Fontenot took off his belt and I made a tourniquet. It worked and the bleeding subsided.”
Fontenot kept wiping his face to make sure he could breathe. The victim started to shake and the men took off their coats and shirts to cover him to keep him from going into shock.
How did the two know what to do? “Our training just kicked in and we went with it,” they said.”
“We did lifesaving steps,” Fontenot said. “You can thank the Marine Corps for teaching us that.”
Emergency Medical Services left the tourniquet on to transport the victim to Pitt Memorial Hospital where the trauma team was ready. Family members said the medical staff at the hospital that stabilized the victim said that the two men that tied his arm to stem the flow of blood saved his life. The grandmother says “they were angels put there by God to save my grandson.”
Fontenot is a crew chief and Salmonsen is a mechanic on CH-53E helicopters. This is the first time they have had to use Marine Corps first aid, they said, but it was good training for combat.
What is love?
I received this e-mail months ago from Cindy Rotblat, Newspapers in Education manager at the Monroe Times in Monroe, Wisc. I saved it for Valentine’s Day.
“A group of professional people posed the question ‘What does love mean?’ to a group of 4 to 8-year-olds. These are their answers:
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather did it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love. Rebecca – age 8.
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth. Billy – age 4.
“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. Karl – age 5.
“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy – age 6.
“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired. Terri – age 4.
“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny – age 7.
“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss. Emily – age 8.
“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby – age 7.
“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend that you hate. Nikka – age 6.
“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday. Noelle – age 7.
“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy – age 6.
“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore. Cindy – age 8.
“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare – age 6.
“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken. Elaine – age 5.
“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Mary Ann – age 4.
“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones. Lauren – age 4.
“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross. Mark – age 6.
“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. Jessica – age 8.
“The winner was a 4-year-old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, ‘Nothing, I just helped him cry.’”
That’s love
My husband, Brit, and his mother, Nell Alford, were very close. Brit was her golden-haired boy (even though he had dark hair) and Brit was unashamedly a Mama’s boy. Anyone who disrespected his mother in his presence did so at their own peril. I remember when we were seniors at Lejeune High School, a guy in our senior class was always trying to pick a fight with Brit (I’m withholding the name to protect the innocent). Brit, who had the patience of Job, always ignored him until one day, he passed Brit in the hallway and called him an S.O.B. Brit followed the guy, who was renowned for his ability to beat up everybody, into the men’s room. I heard the flailing around in there and I heard Brit say, “Don’t you ever call my mother that name again.” The guy came out and smiled at me. He had blood all in his mouth and half of his front tooth was missing. Brit came out a few minutes later shaking his hand where he had bruised his knuckle. They became great friends.
When Brit’s mother got older, she had two false teeth in the front of her mouth. They irritated her and she would take them out and wrap them in a tissue until she went out. Once she forgot they were in the tissue and flushed them down the toilet. She was all upset and told Brit about it. Brit told everyone not to flush the toilet. He went into the backyard, took the top off the septic tank and fished the teeth (which were laying on top of the water) out of the septic tank. That’s love my friends.
I wish you love. Thank you for coming.
Contact Carolyn Alford at calford@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 218.
Ellie
February 12,2006
CAROLYN ALFORD
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Hello, friends and neighbors. It is good to see you here.
Marine corporals Joe Fontenot and David Salmonsen of HMT-302 aboard New River Air Station were in Greenville the rainy evening of Jan. 14. It was just after midnight and the pair had gotten in a taxi to take them back to the hotel when a pedestrian was struck on Charles Boulevard. The victim, whose name is being withheld on the advice of the family’s attorney, was lying on the pavement face down bleeding profusely.
Fontenot and Salmonsen got out of the taxi and ran over to check the victim, they said in a telephone interview last week. He was still breathing.
“We walked up to him, there was blood all over the place,” Salmonsen said. “His arm looked like it was completely off. We took off our shirts, put over the wounds and held pressure. It wasn’t working. Fontenot took off his belt and I made a tourniquet. It worked and the bleeding subsided.”
Fontenot kept wiping his face to make sure he could breathe. The victim started to shake and the men took off their coats and shirts to cover him to keep him from going into shock.
How did the two know what to do? “Our training just kicked in and we went with it,” they said.”
“We did lifesaving steps,” Fontenot said. “You can thank the Marine Corps for teaching us that.”
Emergency Medical Services left the tourniquet on to transport the victim to Pitt Memorial Hospital where the trauma team was ready. Family members said the medical staff at the hospital that stabilized the victim said that the two men that tied his arm to stem the flow of blood saved his life. The grandmother says “they were angels put there by God to save my grandson.”
Fontenot is a crew chief and Salmonsen is a mechanic on CH-53E helicopters. This is the first time they have had to use Marine Corps first aid, they said, but it was good training for combat.
What is love?
I received this e-mail months ago from Cindy Rotblat, Newspapers in Education manager at the Monroe Times in Monroe, Wisc. I saved it for Valentine’s Day.
“A group of professional people posed the question ‘What does love mean?’ to a group of 4 to 8-year-olds. These are their answers:
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather did it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love. Rebecca – age 8.
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth. Billy – age 4.
“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. Karl – age 5.
“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy – age 6.
“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired. Terri – age 4.
“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny – age 7.
“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss. Emily – age 8.
“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby – age 7.
“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend that you hate. Nikka – age 6.
“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday. Noelle – age 7.
“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy – age 6.
“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore. Cindy – age 8.
“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare – age 6.
“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken. Elaine – age 5.
“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Mary Ann – age 4.
“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones. Lauren – age 4.
“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross. Mark – age 6.
“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. Jessica – age 8.
“The winner was a 4-year-old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, ‘Nothing, I just helped him cry.’”
That’s love
My husband, Brit, and his mother, Nell Alford, were very close. Brit was her golden-haired boy (even though he had dark hair) and Brit was unashamedly a Mama’s boy. Anyone who disrespected his mother in his presence did so at their own peril. I remember when we were seniors at Lejeune High School, a guy in our senior class was always trying to pick a fight with Brit (I’m withholding the name to protect the innocent). Brit, who had the patience of Job, always ignored him until one day, he passed Brit in the hallway and called him an S.O.B. Brit followed the guy, who was renowned for his ability to beat up everybody, into the men’s room. I heard the flailing around in there and I heard Brit say, “Don’t you ever call my mother that name again.” The guy came out and smiled at me. He had blood all in his mouth and half of his front tooth was missing. Brit came out a few minutes later shaking his hand where he had bruised his knuckle. They became great friends.
When Brit’s mother got older, she had two false teeth in the front of her mouth. They irritated her and she would take them out and wrap them in a tissue until she went out. Once she forgot they were in the tissue and flushed them down the toilet. She was all upset and told Brit about it. Brit told everyone not to flush the toilet. He went into the backyard, took the top off the septic tank and fished the teeth (which were laying on top of the water) out of the septic tank. That’s love my friends.
I wish you love. Thank you for coming.
Contact Carolyn Alford at calford@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 218.
Ellie