Four Alabama National Guard soldiers with the 214th Military Police Company, 336th Military Police Battalion performed lifesaving resuscitation while deployed to Poland after seeing a man at a KFC go into cardiac arrest Aug. 14, 2025, according to the U.S. Army. (Melissa Lessard/U.S. Army)
A group of Alabama National Guard soldiers gave lifesaving CPR for nearly 30 minutes to a man suffering a heart attack at a KFC in western Poland, Army officials said Friday.
Staff Sgt. Jacob Roberts, Sgt. Justin Fagan, 2nd Lt. Indiana Rhodes and Sgt. 1st Class Alicia Haggins, all with the 214th Military Police Company, were traveling to the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Center when they stopped for lunch Thursday in Skwierzyna, a town about 80 miles west of U.S. Army Garrison Poland headquarters in Poznan.
While ordering, Haggins saw a man collapse outside the restaurant. She alerted the rest of the group, who rushed outside. They checked his breathing and pulse and then began lifesaving measures, Rhodes said in a phone interview Friday.
First responders arrived within minutes and asked Fagan and Roberts to continue rotating with them to keep CPR going while they awaited a medevac helicopter.
“When we started, I would say his pulse was very weak and very shortened,” Fagan said. “Once the (first responders) got there, it still continued to be a team-oriented event,” he added.
Haggins used a translation app to communicate with the victim’s wife, gathering a brief medical history to aid treatment. She confirmed the man had a history of heart problems.
“We have some medical training and we train monthly at least on how to react to these types of situations,” Haggins said. “We immediately responded, no thought, no hesitation.”
The soldiers and paramedics ensured that the man’s vital signs were stable before he was transferred to the helicopter.
Fagan said the victim’s wife and another relative hugged the soldiers and thanked them for their efforts.
Further details on the victim’s name and condition weren’t immediately available Friday.
“Because they were there and at that time, (the victim) and his family have hope,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Cain Claxton said Friday. “It is an example for all of us to emulate in helping people out, especially here being representatives for our country in Poland.”
The four soldiers will be recognized in a ceremony for their heroic noncombat actions, with the date and location still to be determined, Claxton said.
The U.S. military has about 10,000 service members operating throughout Poland. The Drawsko Pomorskie Training Center was renovated this year to host up to 1,700 soldiers, many of whom serve on rotations with U.S.-based units.
Four Alabama National Guard soldiers performed CPR on a man having a heart attack on Aug. 14, 2025, at a KFC in Skwierzyna, Poland, U.S. Army officials said. (U.S. Army Europe and Africa)
