INDIANAPOLIS,- Two Indiana National Guard Soldiers helped save the lives of more than 20 people on a September evening when the apartment across from where they live went up in flames.
Army Spc. Michael Conley was working on his truck in the early evening in front of his apartment when he heard a neighbor scream from the pool behind him. At the same time his housemate, Army Spc. Caleb Goldsberry, was returning from a store trip.
Both immediately ran toward the fire.
"You're trying to get there as fast as you can; do as much as you can," said Goldsberry. "So you've got the fear of failing, but you've got the determination to not fail because you know what's on the line."
Conley said most other people were contently sitting in their apartment.
"I can pretty much say nobody gave me any static about getting out of their apartment," said Conley. "At that point in time, my adrenalin was rushing about 99 percent."
He said when he came into the apartment building yelling orders for them to evacuate, there was very little arguing. However, some people had to be encouraged more than others.
"Everybody wants to grab their mom's purse or little trinkets," Goldsberry said. "That stuff is nice to have and yeah, it might be really important to you, but it's not worth your life!"
The two said they ran from apartment to apartment, making sure everyone was out. Their clothes blackened from the smoke and soot.
Later, they joined the bystanders outside while the firefighters fought to contain the blaze.
"That's when everyone started thanking me," Conley said. "It was humbling, but at the same time, I felt a little 'weirded' out by it, because to me this had to be done."
Goldsberry agreed with this.
"I don't consider myself a hero or anything like that," he said. "I just feel like I did my job with some overtime."
Both are assigned to the 384th Military Police Company with the Indiana Army National Guard.
"I think being in the Army National Guard and being an MP made me more willing to go into a situation where it could end up badly for me physically," Conley said referencing his military training. "I think it prepared me mentally more than anything."
Goldsberry credited his decision to respond quickly to his military training, too.
"I'm glad that I've had the training I've had," he said. "I'm glad I'm a Soldier. If I wasn't, I doubt would have responded the same way."
The Soldiers selfless actions were praised by their commander.
"We talk to these Soldiers about living the Army values … and we actually have people who truly live those values every day of their life, not just when they're on duty with the National Guard," said Army Capt. Jesse Carlton, 384th MP Company commander.
"I was very proud of them," Carlton said.
Because of their efforts, nobody was injured during the fire.
"It was in the line of duty of being a Citizen-Soldier," Carlton said, adding that he couldn't stop smiling about it.