![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/airmans-medal-201x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
An Air Force Airman is being recognized for his courage under fire at the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting incident.<\/p>\n
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jordan Benson said his training kicked in three years ago when he aided dozens of people during America\u2019s deadliest mass shooting.<\/p>\n
Benson, his wife and 17 other family members and friends were scattered throughout a crowd of some 22,000 people attending the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in October 2017 when a man opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino.<\/p>\n
With an arsenal that included 23 firearms \u2014 at least half of them reportedly had bump stock modifications for rapid fire \u2014 the shooter killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others during the nine-minute attack.<\/p>\n
As bullets rained down on the concert venue, people near the exits began to scatter and many pockets of people in the crowd began to panic.<\/p>\n
Benson didn\u2019t know what happened at first. He thought someone was lighting fireworks on the Vegas Strip, he told Military Times on Tuesday. But he knew something wasn\u2019t right when the intermittent pops turned into the first of several 15-second bursts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I realized and was able to push my wife and my friend and his wife down on the ground and take cover as close as we could,\u201d Benson said.<\/p>\n
Though he was scared, his military training kicked in and Benson took action. After the first long burst of shots ended, Benson took his wife and friends to nearby bleachers for cover.<\/p>\n
Once safe, he decided to set out and help more of those around him. His wife, Magali, pleaded with him to remain in the safety of cover, but he felt it his duty to help.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
More at the source.<\/p>\n
Souce; Air Force Times<\/a><\/p>\n
As the article points out, this is not the first award given to members of the military for their actions that night. A Utah National Guardsman received the Utah Medal of Valor<\/a><\/p>\n
(the state’s highest award), two Marines from Camp Pendleton received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal<\/a> (the Naval component’s equivalent of the Airman’s Medal), and a British Army Trooper received the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery<\/a> (the peacetime equivalent to a Mention in Dispatches, which is of similar rank to an American Bronze Star Medal w\/ “V”).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"