SEOUL – Two South Korean civilians will be honored during a ceremony at Camp Stanley on Tuesday for coming to the aid of a U.S. soldier after she lost consciousness this summer.
Yi Won Chik and Kwak Myong Chin, both mechanics for the 15th Korean Service Corps Battalion, heard a woman collapse near a restroom at Stanley on June 11. Both men rushed to her side and Kwak performed CPR after determining that she was not breathing, while Yi ordered a Korean augmentee to the U.S. Army to call 911.
“The U.S. soldiers are like family to us,” said Yi, who credited annual CPR training given to Korean employees with teaching him how to respond to the situation.
The soldier, Pfc. Kimberly Garland, said she remembered feeling dizzy and faint before passing out from what doctors later told her was overexertion.
“I felt like they were at the right place at the right time,” said Garland, who has fully recovered. “Anything could have happened, and I’m just glad they were there.”
Recognition of the Korean employees comes after another U.S. soldier helped passengers on a Korean train escape after it derailed on Aug. 31.
According to the Eighth Army, Sgt. Steven Royster of the 36th Signal Battalion was riding on a KTX express train when it collided with a local train shortly after leaving Daegu.
The train windows wouldn’t open because power was out, so Royster broke a window and, with the help of a South Korean man, helped several passengers escape. Royster received six stitches for deep cuts to his hand and arm sustained while breaking the window.
Approximately 870 passengers from both trains were evacuated, and none suffered life-threatening injuries, according to the Eighth Army.
