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- Sep 12, 2012
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We've had some Kipling conversation in the Afghanistan thread; I immediately thought of "If" as I read the accounts of this Marine. Well done Marine!
Okinawa-based Marine honored for heroism after harrowing water rescue
The group dove for about 35 minutes, reaching a depth of about 60 feet and had a “really good dive,” said Maj. John Mahler, who was part of the party that day. Cranford – a master diver and by far the most experienced — led the expedition.
“As we were coming back to our entry and exit point, the conditions had changed drastically,” Mahler said. The tide had come in and waves had increased to five or six feet.
Cranford organized the group and instructed them to turn their backs to shore and use their tanks for protection against the reef, and then back in toward dry land. They were pummeled against the reef and exhausted but he saw everyone get out safely. He was getting out himself when Kinjo called for help.
“It was pretty clear they were in distress,” said Cranford, who instructed his dive partners to stay out of the water. He went back in by himself.
As he got to Kinjo, the Okinawa City bar owner was in unbridled distress. Kinjo grabbed Cranford’s buoyancy control device and tried to push him under to remain above the water.
“Justin didn’t know what was going on,” Cranford said. “His mental state was starting to decline.”
Cranford subdued Kinjo and turned him around. He put his regulator in his mouth to stop him from swallowing seawater, then dragged him to shore. He returned two more times and repeated the rescue, carrying one person to shore at a time.
An onlooker had ignored warnings not to enter the water and attempted to wade out to help without protective gear. He was sucked out in the rip current and skewered by sea urchins. All he could do was hang onto the reef and wait for Cranford.
Cranford put that man on top of himself to keep him above the water and carried him to shore, where all of the men were hyperventilating, trying to regain their composure.
Okinawa-based Marine honored for heroism after harrowing water rescue
The group dove for about 35 minutes, reaching a depth of about 60 feet and had a “really good dive,” said Maj. John Mahler, who was part of the party that day. Cranford – a master diver and by far the most experienced — led the expedition.
“As we were coming back to our entry and exit point, the conditions had changed drastically,” Mahler said. The tide had come in and waves had increased to five or six feet.
Cranford organized the group and instructed them to turn their backs to shore and use their tanks for protection against the reef, and then back in toward dry land. They were pummeled against the reef and exhausted but he saw everyone get out safely. He was getting out himself when Kinjo called for help.
“It was pretty clear they were in distress,” said Cranford, who instructed his dive partners to stay out of the water. He went back in by himself.
As he got to Kinjo, the Okinawa City bar owner was in unbridled distress. Kinjo grabbed Cranford’s buoyancy control device and tried to push him under to remain above the water.
“Justin didn’t know what was going on,” Cranford said. “His mental state was starting to decline.”
Cranford subdued Kinjo and turned him around. He put his regulator in his mouth to stop him from swallowing seawater, then dragged him to shore. He returned two more times and repeated the rescue, carrying one person to shore at a time.
An onlooker had ignored warnings not to enter the water and attempted to wade out to help without protective gear. He was sucked out in the rip current and skewered by sea urchins. All he could do was hang onto the reef and wait for Cranford.
Cranford put that man on top of himself to keep him above the water and carried him to shore, where all of the men were hyperventilating, trying to regain their composure.
