Posted in

Sergeant First Class Levon Fernandez saving the world

by Jonn Lilyea••8

Southcom.mil reports that Sergeant First Class Levon Fernandez, a flight paramedic with Joint Task Force-Bravo’s Charlie Company, 1st Battalion 228th Aviation Regiment, was awarded the Soldiers Medal for his actions on August 16, 2017 in Honduras when a Honduran Air Force L410 training flight crashed into powerlines and a headquarters building;

After negotiating the electrical wires, debris and other hazardous conditions, he reached the severely wounded Honduran aviators, checked for signs of life and began directing others in vicinity of the crash site.

“I met up with a few of my medics over there. Our first goal was to try to extract the pilots; we noticed 3 guys in there. There was fuel spurting out all over us as we were trying to extract them,” said Fernandez.

Fernandez retrieved the flight engineer from the aircraft and got him to a safe distance where another flight paramedic was able to provide the necessary medical care. He then turned his attention back to the other aviators who were severely entangled in the wreckage. Unable to extract the pilot within conventional means, Fernandez climbed into the cockpit.

“They were all pretty trapped in so we were trying to take the aircraft apart around them. We were able to extract two of the pilots right away, the third one unfortunately was not able to get extracted and passed away in the aircraft. It was not until hours later that the fire department was finally able to get him out,” said Fernandez.

Thanks to AW1Ed for the tip.

You might also like

Four Rangers Receive Medals

Oldest and youngest

A Hero Remembered

8 thoughts on “Sergeant First Class Levon Fernandez saving the world”

  1. BRAVO ZULU to you SFC Fernandez, you’re a Real Man and a Warrior who kept going and did what’s right when things suddenly went to hell in a handbasket!

  4. SFC Fernandez’s comments:

    It’s bitter sweet because I wasn’t the only guy there. There were plenty of guys there who were taking just as much risk as I was,” said Fernandez. “I definitely don’t consider myself a hero. This wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the rest of the Charlie Company and the rest of the 228 guys who were out there, also putting their lives in jeopardy to try to save a life.

    This is how a hero speaks.

  5. That is for sure Soldier’s Medal material, right there. Good job, SFC Fernandez.

  6. Holy crap. That’s some scary stuff. Covered in jet fuel, cutting strangers out of a wreckage, directing the rescue, negotiating downed power lines. That dude took his hero pills that morning. If only I could be that brave when the moment arrives.

Comments are closed.