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<\/a><\/p>\nNickolas Clarke never thought he would save someone from drowning twice in his life, let alone in the same location. But while visiting the beach on Labor Day with his family, he and another bystander jumped in the rough water to save a young boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would never expect in a million years for that to happen again,\u201d Clarke said. \u201cIt happens quick; you either do something or you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Army Ranger saved two people from drowning on the same beach on Oklaoosa Island in 2014. He was awarded the Soldier\u2019s Medal, the Army\u2019s highest award for heroism outside of combat.<\/p>\n
Although Clarke retired in 2015, his military training and instincts stayed intact and helped him save yet another person this week.<\/p>\n
It was about 3 p.m. Monday and red flags were flying as strong rip currents formed ahead of Tropical Storm Gordon. Clarke was sitting on the beach with his two children when he heard a lady yell for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was screaming \u2018Somebody help my kid,\u2019 \u201d Clarke said. \u201cI looked over and that\u2019s when I saw him out pretty far. I saw just a head in the waves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Without hesitation, Clarke and Sgt. Cody Patterson, an airman from Eglin Air Force Base, jumped in the water and grabbed the boy. They struggled to keep their heads above the waves and went under several times, but kept the boy\u2019s head above the water.<\/p>\n
By the time the men were able to stand, lifeguards had arrived and helped them to shore. Firefighters examined the boy and released him back to his family.<\/p>\n
Monday was a busy day for lifeguards on Okaloosa Island, according to Okaloosa County Beach Safety Division Chief Rich Huffnagle. Although there were only two rescues, the lifeguards spent the day explaining to people on the beach the hazards of the rip currents.<\/p>\n
Moments before Clarke and Patterson\u2019s rescue, lifeguards pulled another person from the water nearby.<\/p>\n
Clarke is still recovering from a broken neck, dislocated shoulder and injured back he received in an accident while in the Army. Monday\u2019s rescue left him with back pain, but he said it was all worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if I had one leg and a missing arm, I\u2019d still go out there,\u201d Clarke said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nickolas Clarke never thought he would save someone from drowning twice in his life, let … Army SFC Nickolas Clarke keeps Saving the World.<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":667,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/667"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81647\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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