thedrifter
01-08-09, 11:44 AM
Marine pushes through flames to save 80-year-old Californian
Story by Lance Cpl. Josue Aguirre
A station Marine received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal Dec. 31 for risking his life to save an elderly man.
Cpl. Vincent P. Saldaņa, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 aviation ordnance systems technician, pulled an 80-year-old man from a burning house in Ontario, Calif. Aug. 8.
Saldaņa was in Ontario on leave for a wedding. Hours before the wedding, he and a friend were passing the local high school when they noticed smoke.
The Ontario native drove to the back of the school, finding a house on fire in a nearby cul-de-sac. Bystanders then informed him someone was still inside the house.
Saldaņa described the heat as intense when he opened the front door.
"There was a whole bunch of smoke, my eyes were getting watery, my lungs were closing up and there was this heat," said Saldaņa. "It was completely black in there, I couldn't see anything and even the ground was too hot."
Despite the heat forcing bystanders to back away, Saldaņa rushed in, knowing lives were at stake.
Upon entering, Saldaņa found Willis Huxman dazed, injured and disoriented in the thick, black smoke that consumed the house.
Huxman was a neighbor and had been visiting when the fire started. He is also the grandfather to one of Saldaņa's closest friends.
Saldaņa led Huxman outside to safety, instructing onlookers to get Huxman some water.
Once out of immediate danger, Huxman told Saldaņa that Dorothy Paulsen, the resident of the house, was still inside.
With total disregard for his own life, Saldaņa entered the flaming structure again and searched as long as he could, but was unsuccessful, exiting the structure just before the front room flashed over with fire.
"My main mission was to get her out," said Saldaņa.
Determined to save the woman, it occurred to him that the garage entrance could provide access to the kitchen, which he was unable to reach during his search.
Using an axe, he began to chop away at the metal garage door.
Saldaņa was squeezing through t1he hole he'd made, when police on the scene pulled him back, preventing any further rescue attempts for his own safety.
"When your adrenaline kicks in you don't care about yourself. You put yourself in danger for someone else you don't even know. I didn't know this lady, but we're trained as Marines to do the right thing. We're willing to risk our lives to save someone else's because that's someone else's grandma, someone else's mom. It's just the right thing to do," said Saldaņa.
Paulsen did not survive. Reports indicated the fire was electrical and had started with a box fan plugged into the wall that divided the kitchen and living room.
Saldaņa's heroic efforts did not go unnoticed. Approximately four months later, his award ceremony took place.
"I felt honored and proud," said Lt. Col. Guillermo G. Meza-Ortega, MALS-13 commanding officer. "His actions were above and beyond the call of duty and it provides an illustration of what the Marine Corps is and does."
Ellie
Story by Lance Cpl. Josue Aguirre
A station Marine received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal Dec. 31 for risking his life to save an elderly man.
Cpl. Vincent P. Saldaņa, Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 aviation ordnance systems technician, pulled an 80-year-old man from a burning house in Ontario, Calif. Aug. 8.
Saldaņa was in Ontario on leave for a wedding. Hours before the wedding, he and a friend were passing the local high school when they noticed smoke.
The Ontario native drove to the back of the school, finding a house on fire in a nearby cul-de-sac. Bystanders then informed him someone was still inside the house.
Saldaņa described the heat as intense when he opened the front door.
"There was a whole bunch of smoke, my eyes were getting watery, my lungs were closing up and there was this heat," said Saldaņa. "It was completely black in there, I couldn't see anything and even the ground was too hot."
Despite the heat forcing bystanders to back away, Saldaņa rushed in, knowing lives were at stake.
Upon entering, Saldaņa found Willis Huxman dazed, injured and disoriented in the thick, black smoke that consumed the house.
Huxman was a neighbor and had been visiting when the fire started. He is also the grandfather to one of Saldaņa's closest friends.
Saldaņa led Huxman outside to safety, instructing onlookers to get Huxman some water.
Once out of immediate danger, Huxman told Saldaņa that Dorothy Paulsen, the resident of the house, was still inside.
With total disregard for his own life, Saldaņa entered the flaming structure again and searched as long as he could, but was unsuccessful, exiting the structure just before the front room flashed over with fire.
"My main mission was to get her out," said Saldaņa.
Determined to save the woman, it occurred to him that the garage entrance could provide access to the kitchen, which he was unable to reach during his search.
Using an axe, he began to chop away at the metal garage door.
Saldaņa was squeezing through t1he hole he'd made, when police on the scene pulled him back, preventing any further rescue attempts for his own safety.
"When your adrenaline kicks in you don't care about yourself. You put yourself in danger for someone else you don't even know. I didn't know this lady, but we're trained as Marines to do the right thing. We're willing to risk our lives to save someone else's because that's someone else's grandma, someone else's mom. It's just the right thing to do," said Saldaņa.
Paulsen did not survive. Reports indicated the fire was electrical and had started with a box fan plugged into the wall that divided the kitchen and living room.
Saldaņa's heroic efforts did not go unnoticed. Approximately four months later, his award ceremony took place.
"I felt honored and proud," said Lt. Col. Guillermo G. Meza-Ortega, MALS-13 commanding officer. "His actions were above and beyond the call of duty and it provides an illustration of what the Marine Corps is and does."
Ellie