DENTON, Texas, July 22, 2011 – When Army Staff Sgt. Marcus A. Stone saw cars suddenly braking and swerving ahead of him on Interstate 35 East in Dallas, he knew something bad had just happened on the freeway he was driving on. In the minutes that followed, Stone pulled a victim from a burning vehicle.
Those actions that December day prompted Stone’s commanding officer to nominate him for the Noncommissioned Officers Association of the United States of America Military Vanguard Award, presented annually to recognize acts of heroism.
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Officer Susan Sharp, who was the investigating officer that day for the Farmers Branch Police Department, said Stone gave responders his recruiter business card and left the scene. Only after she compiled the statements from witnesses and drivers involved in the accident, who referred to Stone as “that Army guy,” did she realize how crucial a role Stone played, she said.
“Had Sergeant Stone not extricated [the victim], he would have burned to death within a minute or two,” Sharp said. “Stone didn’t just save a life. He was the difference between a group of bystanders seeing a man rescued by one of America’s heroic soldiers, versus seeing the man die a horrific death, burning right before their eyes.”
Stone, an Iraq combat veteran, said his Army training played a crucial role in his actions in saving the man that day. The Iraq experience, he explained, helped in that he was much calmer because he had already had enough pressure-packed situations in Iraq.
“It just comes down to being at the right place at the right time,” he said. “I’m just glad that somebody was able to continue their life, and I’m thankful that I was able to help someone in that capacity.”
Syracuse, NY — William and Sandy Blair worried as they sat in row 8 of the Farr’s Coach Lines Ltd. tour bus on the side of the New York State Thruway early Friday in Junius Ponds.
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At about 1:20 a.m., the bus pulled back onto the highway. It had just crossed the rough surface of the road’s shoulder when a Matrix Expedited Services truck carrying 14,000 pounds of ball bearing crashed into it.
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At about the same time, Army Sgt. Jacob Perkins, 28, was driving his truck westbound. Perkins was stationed at Fort Drum in the First Squadron 89th Calvary Regiment and had served in Iraq. He was beginning a couple of weeks leave with a long drive to his home in Mountain Grove, Mo.
“It was just a big fireball of a crash. There were two vehicles burning on the side of the road and people were outside, but there weren’t any first responders there,” he said.
Perkins pulled his truck over.
“All of a sudden this guy came running. He ran right onto the bus that was fully engulfed in flames,” Michelle said.
Perkins said he didn’t hesitate. “They kept saying there were still people on the bus, so I didn’t really think about it. I ran in there.”
He helped a couple of people off the bus. “I pushed back farther into the bus to start checking the seats to make sure there was nobody in there. It was on fire. It wasn’t burning me or nothing. There was fire and smoke. When it got overwhelming, I just got off the bus,” Perkins said.
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Michelle approached three state troopers on the side of the road. “My dad’s gone. We don’t know if he’s going to live. We need to get to where he’s going. How can we get there,” she asked.
The troopers said they didn’t know.
“Jacob (Perkins) was standing about 10 feet away. He said ‘I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Get in my truck’.”
Perkins drove the Blairs to the hospital in Rochester. He gave them his cell phone to call family in Canada.
“I went into the hospital covered in blood, one sock, limping and a sports bra. They had no idea what was going on,” Michelle said.
The Blairs told the hospital what had happened, and said they were looking for William. The hospital told them he wasn’t there. He’d been re-routed to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.
“We were in tears. We didn’t know what to do,” Michelle said.
Perkins told them “Get in my truck. We’re going to the other hospital. I’ll get you there.”
The sergeant drove 90 minutes back to Syracuse.
“Jacob stayed with us. He refused to leave until we had family here,” Michelle said.
Perkins stayed with the women until Sandy and William’s son arrived from Canada. Then he left.
The Blairs offered him cash in thanks. Perkins refused. Gas money? Nope. Cup of coffee. No thanks.
“He wanted nothing. He said, ‘That’s what people do for other people’,” Michelle said.
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Perkins, reached by cell phone at 10 this morning, was on the side of the road in Ohio where he had stopped to eat. He was still 8 hours from his Missouri home and 5-year-old daughter.
Sounding exhausted, he spoke humbly about his role in Friday’s crash.
“I just think it’s what anybody would have done in that situation. I just happened to be there.”
Major kudos to SSG Stone and SGT Perkins for taking action when they weren’t required to do so, and saving lives in the process!
