FORT KNOX, Ky. — Staff Sgt. Jared Draper said growing up he always wanted a career that would allow him to serve others.
He joined the Army in 2018 and eventually found his calling as a Soldier with the U.S. Army Military Police Corps.
“I was raised in a small farm town in Iowa where it's very common to do service-type jobs,” said Draper, a U.S. Army Cadet Command Law Enforcement Activity squad leader. “We were raised to take ownership of our area; always look out for your neighbor.”
On Feb. 22, Draper would do just that in response to one of multiple drive-by shootings that took place in Radcliff, Kentucky in February.
Draper said when the Feb. 22 incident occurred, he went about his day normally, taking out the trash, when he heard what sounded like gunshots. When he opened the door to see what had caused the commotion, he witnessed a white van speeding away from the area.
After calling 911, Draper said he rushed to grab his firearm and his military issued Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) before inspecting the scene.
“I started walking around, seeing if there was anybody who was struck, just in case,” said Draper.
Draper discovered an injured individual, a neighbor of his, with a gunshot wound to the right leg.
Utilizing the training he had received in the military, he said he quickly applied a tourniquet, marking the time at which it was applied, adhered a pressure dressing to the wound, and conducted a blood sweep of the individual to ensure there were no other injuries before the ambulance came.
“It was honestly just a case of right place, right time,” said Draper. “The only other option was to let him bleed out, and that just wasn’t an option.”
On April 4, the Fort Knox Garrison Command Team awarded Draper with the Army Commendation Medal for his actions that day.
Draper said the only reward he needed was to know that he had helped someone in a situation that could have potentially had a tragic ending.
“The individual’s dad was there, and he just kept saying, ‘Thank you, thank you. That's my boy,’” he said. “The award is nice, but that's honestly the only recognition that's actually worth it to me – knowing that you did something for someone's family.”
Visit Fort Knox News at www.army.mil/knox for all of Central Kentucky's latest military news and information.
| Date Taken: | 04.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2025 16:11 |
| Story ID: | 494783 |
| Location: | FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘Right place, right time’ - Fort Knox Soldier helps save victim of February Radcliff shootings, by Savannah Baird, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
