FORT SILL, Okla. (Nov. 14, 2013) -- A Soldier assigned to 75th Fires Brigade was awarded a medal for his actions Nov. 5 at Lake Texoma.
Spc. Pedro Gerena, A Company, 100th Brigade Support Battalion, received the Army Achievement Medal for performing CPR on a drowned swimmer.
What began as a perfect September evening of relaxation and camping drastically changed to a day he will relive for a long time.
Gerena was sitting with his wife at the RV park and heard cries for help.
"It was dark, and I heard someone screaming for help," said Gerena. "I got in my car and drove up to the shore, and when my headlights hit the shore, I saw a man trying to perform CPR on another man."
The man performing CPR told Gerena his friend was intoxicated and refused to wear a life-jacket. The unidentified man fell into the water and did not resurface.
"The man was frantic," said Gerena. "He was trying to do CPR, and shaking his friend to wake him up."
An ambulance arrived several minutes after Gerena took over CPR. Once they arrived, emergency medical technicians asked Gerena to continue CPR during the transport of the patient. The ride to the hospital took more than 20 minutes.
Gerena was able to bring a weak pulse back to the victim en route to the hospital. Unfortunately, the man was unable to maintain the pulse and did not survive.
Gerena is not new to water safety. He has been trained and certified as a lifeguard, and he performed lifeguard duties at Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area (LETRA) this summer.
"Specialist Gerena is one of our best Soldiers in the company," said Capt. Jeffrey Hays, A Company commander. "He did great work as a lifeguard at LETRA."
Through the lifeguard certification, Gerena learned basic water rescue techniques, water safety and CPR. He said he's looking forward to continuing as a lifeguard next summer.
"If I could recommend one thing for people around the water, it would be to wear a life-jacket while they're on the water," said Gerena. "We can prevent many more tragedies just by doing that."
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