ST. LOUIS - Missouri National Guard members recently saved the lives of local residents in two separate instances.
For Pvt. Matthew Duncan, a cannon crewmember assigned to the Missouri Army National Guard's Battery B, 1st Battalion, 129th Field Artillery Regiment, his commute home turned into an opportunity to use his training. While driving on Missouri Highway 24 he said he noticed gravel spread across on the black top and skid marks leading off the edge of the road. After stopping, he said he discovered a wrecked vehicle and then called 911.
When the emergency call was complete, Duncan went down to the vehicle to assist the occupants. He said he found one person in the vehicle and assisted him to the side of the roadway where worked to stabilize him and keep him alert. Then, Duncan said he heard a noise. When he went to investigate the noise, he found another passenger of the vehicle who had been ejected during the accident.
Duncan said he reassured her that everything was alright as he worked to stabilize her injuries and then again called 911 to inform them there were multiple injuries and one occupant was critical. He continued to stabilize the two until help arrived.
After emergency services and local law enforcement arrived, Duncan continued to assist with clean up of the scene and gathered items that had been thrown from the car during the accident.
Duncan said he has maintained contact with the families of the two individuals involved in the accident and was able to help fill in missing information about the accident for the victims.
For Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Reece, assigned to the Missouri Air National Guard's 157th Air Operations Group, at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., it was smoke coming from an apartment building that made him stop, he said.
As he drew closer, he said he realized he was the first one on the scene. Outside, he saw a woman helping a neighbor using a walker to the sidewalk.
"I opened my car door, ran up to the apartment complex, and asked if everyone was out," Reece said. "She said people were still in there, I yelled for her to call 911 and asked her, 'which buildings?'"
The woman pointed to the second apartment, said Reece, which was on fire, and said, "He can't walk."
Reece immediately ran into the apartment.
"I first went in the apartment in a crouch but realized that I needed to get lower," Reece said. "I went back out and saw there was a little bit of air space - three or four feet high - of clear air. I figured if I stayed low enough, I could try again to get to him and pull him out."
Between the dense smoke and the darkness of early morning, it was difficult to see, said Reece. After crawling about 10 feet into the apartment, Reece realized he couldn't go any further without a flashlight and something to cover his face.
Reece said he sprinted to the apartment next door to get a flashlight and a blanket.
"I tried to open the door but it was locked," Reece said. "Someone yelled out from behind me, 'she's still in there' I tried twice to kick the door open, but it was reinforced around the deadbolt. I then began to break the dual plate glass window by kicking it with my flight boots. I was starting to push furniture out of the way of the window when I heard a loud bang and the front door was open."
St. Louis County Patrol Officer Michael Schira, with the help of another person, had arrived on the scene and kicked in the front door, said Reece.
"I'm glad Officer Schira and the other person were there," Reece said. "If they hadn't kicked that door open, I would've had to crawl through the plate glass window - which still had shards of broken glass attached to it - and across a floor covered in glass."
With the door open, Reece and the others darted inside. They ran through the apartment and flipped on the lights in the back bedroom. The woman inside, who had been asleep, woke up screaming.
"Someone behind me called out, 'your house is on fire,'" Reece said. "I told the guy on my right, 'go to the front there, and we're going to lift her up with her bed sheets' I didn't know what her status was - if she had any mobility issues."
Reece said it turned out the woman had recently had knee surgery and trying to walk her out of the apartment would not only have been difficult, but may have further damaged her knee or cut herself on broken glass.
After bringing the woman to a safe place, Reece said he returned to the apartments to find a blanket so he could get to the person who couldn't walk in the second apartment.
After being told that individual had already been rescued, Reece returned to the sidewalk where residents had gathered and asked if anyone else was inside, he said. He was told all the apartments were empty. Everyone was safe. Everyone was alive.
Reece said he then checked to see if anyone needed first aid. One woman dressed only in a nightgown and in bare feet was leaning on her walker on the frozen concrete, said Reece, adding that he then grabbed a nearby outdoor chair, guided her in the seat and draped his flight jacket over her in the below-freezing temperature and then went to check on others. By then, the fire department, paramedics and additional first responders had arrived.
Reece said he credits his military training with preparing him for the situation. As a C-130 Hercules pilot with more than 260 combat flying hours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo, Reece said he has constantly trained for emergency situations.
"You have to make a decision, and you have to make it now," said Reece, adding that his focus was to get those still inside to a safe area.
Although Reece worked quickly that morning, he said he worked carefully.
Others said they weren't surprised by Reece's actions that morning.
"Lt. Col. Reece put the others' safety before his own," said Air Force Col. Richard Chapman, commander of the 157th Air Ops. Grp. "His selflessness, quick actions and sense of duty were extraordinary. I hope my actions and that of all our members would be the same."
Both Reece and Duncan received recognition and awards from their respective commands for their actions.