USS Patriot minemen, left to right, Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert A. Kapsa Jr., Petty Officer 3rd Class Lawrence E. Stolinski and Seaman David B. Wages stand on the brow of their ship in Inchon, South Korea. The three are credited with saving the life of a Korean woman who passed out and stopped breathing while riding the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. (Courtesy of Amphibious Task Force 76)
SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — Three sailors from the minesweeper USS Patriot used their emergency lifesaving skills to revive a young Korean woman who collapsed in a S. Korean subway.
The unidentified female wasn’t breathing, lost consciousness and fell to the floor June 6 on a subway route between Seoul and Inchon, according to an Amphibious Task Force 76 report issued Thursday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert A. Kapsa Jr., Petty Officer 3rd Class Lawrence E. Stolinski and Seaman David B. Wages, all minemen on the minesweeper that operates out of Sasebo, helped out.
“We noticed a young girl passed out,” said Kapsa. “Her lips were turning blue, and we decided to take action.”
With her pulse and breathing stopped, the sailors immediately administered rescue breathing and chest compressions.
Wages, a Navy-trained rescue swimmer, took the lead.
“I really didn’t have to think much about what to do. What I learned in [Search and Rescue] school just came right back. It was like a natural reaction,” he recalled.
The woman’s pulse soon returned, and she resumed breathing on her own.
The subway conductor was informed, and the train stopped at the next station.
The three carried her to a nearby bench and treated her for shock, Stolinski said.
“I told a few people to call an ambulance,” Wages added. “We propped her feet up with our bags while waiting for the paramedics.”
The sailors then helped paramedics lift her onto a stretcher, said Kapsa.
Afterward, the minemen boarded the next train to rejoin the ship.
Stolinski wants follow-up information.
“We still hope to find out what happened to her [after she was taken to a hospital],” he said.
