Photo By Capt. Peter Shinn | From left, Staff Sgt. Eric Pugh, Sgt. Forrest Shady, Spec. Daniel Kersbergen, Spec....... read more read more
Five fast-acting Iowa National Guard soldiers stepped-up after an Indianapolis Police Officer went down following the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race on July 25. And their efforts didn’t go unnoticed. The five soldiers received Indiana Commendation Medals for their efforts in a ceremony at Camp Atterbury, Ind., on July 30.
The Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agri-Business Development Team, which is at Camp Atterbury, Ind., for training ahead of the ADT’s deployment to Afghanistan, had a one-day pass on July 25, and several ADT Soldiers went to the Brickyard 400 in uniform. That turned out to be fortunate for Indianapolis Police Officer Travis Williams, who was struck by a motorist while directing traffic immediately after the race, because the first people on the scene of the accident were the ADT’s Staff Sgt. Eric Pugh, Sgt. Forrest Shady, Spec. Daniel Kersbegen, Spec. Martin Rustvoldt and Spc. Nathaniel Wunsch.
Shady, who arrived first, began assessing Williams. Kersbergen, who is a deputy sheriff and emergency medical technician in his civilian occupation, showed up seconds later and took over the medical assessment. Shady, Pugh, Rustvold and Wunsch immediately began crowd and traffic control to help clear a path for an ambulance and keep the injured police officer from further harm.
Col. Timothy Newsome commands the 205th Infantry Battalion, which is responsible for training the ADT at Camp Atterbury. He approved awarding the ADT Soldiers the Indiana Commendation Medal.
“We get them some tickets to the Brickyard 400 and then they do an heroic response like this,” Newsome said. “It’s speaks to the benefits of our One Army, because these are Citizen Soldiers stepping forward and doing the right thing when the situation required it.”
The ADT Soldiers are reluctant to talk about the incident. To a man, they insist they were just doing what anyone else would do.
“Hero? I would say no,” Kersbergen said. “Back home, it’s what I do – that’s my job. Military side – that’s what they trained us to do. Wearing the uniform and helping a civilian – I think that’s something that would just come naturally to any soldier.”
But Col. Craig Bargfrede, who commands the 734th ADT, sees it differently. Bargfrede pointed out all of the soldiers are Iowa National Guard members.
“As their commander, I am very proud of their actions in helping out this police officer,” Bargfrede said. “These actions speak to the quality of the soldiers we have in the Iowa National Guard.”
The 734th ADT will soon deploy to Afghanistan. Its mission is to protect the people of Afghanistan by helping their officials and farmers boost food production.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2010 18:39 |
| Story ID: | 53723 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 361 |
| Downloads: | 233 |
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