Photo By Sgt. Teresa Cantero | U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Tunstall assigned to Task Force Oceania, 9th Mission Support...... read more read more
HONOLULU, Hawaii – A U.S. Army Pacific Task Force Oceania (TF-O) Soldier saved a young boy from drowning during an enculturation training at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) Wednesday, August 11. The PCC was closed to the public that day, and is closed every Wednesday and Sunday.
Army Sgt. Anthony Tunstall was accompanying a team of Soldiers conducting an escorted visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center when their escort responded to a medical emergency involving a drowning child.
The escort pulled the seemingly lifeless body of the child from the Tongan lagoon and Tunstall, who is a trained Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMT-B) responded to the scene and started providing first-aid and CPR to the child.
Other Soldiers on the scene immediately called 911 while Tunstall continued to perform first-aid and CPR. Tunstall was able to revive and stabilize the child until paramedics arrived.
“I’m just thankful that I was in the right place at the right time so that I could provide medical assistance,” said Tunstall. “I’m grateful for all of the medical training that the Army has put into me. That training means that a young child can continue to experience life.”
The child was taken to The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu for continued monitoring and follow-on care. The child was later transferred to Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center and has since been released from the hospital.
“We are home now, resting,” said Ulise Funaki, the child’s father. “We’re truly blessed and grateful for all the things that were in place, and that happened to be able to bring him home.”
“Sgt. Tunstall’s heroic actions are the embodiment of the Army Values, we, as Soldiers, choose to live by,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy D. Smith, command sergeant major for TF-O. “His quick thinking and military training were able to save a life and will forever impact this family.”
Tunstall is assigned to the 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion based at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. He is currently attached to the 9th MSC as a member of Task Force Oceania. Task Force Oceania is a multi-component Army task force designed to build and cultivate relationships with the countries located in Oceania, which includes the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. The Soldiers were visiting PCC as means of gaining greater understanding of the culture and people of Polynesia through cultural immersion.
| Date Taken: | 08.11.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2021 18:44 |
| Story ID: | 403924 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Hometown: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Hometown: | TAPPAHANNOCK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 151 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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