CENTCOM Soldier saves gunshot victim’s life
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (July 5, 2012) — A United States Central Command soldier is credited with saving the life of a Tampa man shot in the neck near Westshore Avenue in Tampa June 24.
CENTCOM has recommended that Sgt. James Caswell, a native of Battle Creek, Mich., be awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the highest honor for an act of valor in a non-combat environment, for the courage and skill of his quick response.
Caswell said he heard gunshots while driving home from work at MacDill Air Force Base around 2:15 p.m. ‘My first instinct was to duck,’ said Caswell, who deployed to Iraq for a year in 2008. ‘Then in my rearview mirror I saw a car speed off in the opposite direction. At the same time, I saw an individual on my side of the street stumble and fall to the ground.’
Worried that the shooter would return, Caswell hesitated for a brief second before grabbing his cell phone and running toward the victim, dialing 911 en route. He gave his location and situation to the 911 operator and then immediately turned his attention to the wounded man lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from his neck.
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