A true example of service before self

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Shandresha Mitchell
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
TAMPA, Fla. --  On Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Desmond, 6th Security Forces Squadron military working dog trainer, and his wife Lilian, a former 6th SFS Airman, demonstrated a true example of service before self.

En route to their son's fifth birthday party, the Desmonds passed by the Ride2Recovery's Tampa Honor Ride, a charity bicycle ride to raise awareness and funds for adaptive bikes for wounded and injured veterans.

At that moment, one of the riders took a serious fall on a two-lane road. The Desmonds immediately pulled over to provide assistance.

"My wife and I saw the fall at the same time," said Desmond. "She immediately pulled over and removed the first aid kit to render aid to the fallen rider."

While they were helping the first rider, another rider took a more serious fall.

"She [the second rider] had cracked her helmet pretty good," stated Desmond. "So we moved her to our vehicle to sit down."

As they were providing care to the two bike riders, a third rider took an even more serious fall in the middle of the street. At this point, the Desmonds really jumped in with both feet.

"As we approached her [the third rider], she complained that she couldn't move; and she couldn't feel her legs," said Desmond. "She was getting cold, so my wife took the emergency blanket out of the first aid kit and laid it across her then kept her head stable."

The Desmonds then moved their vehicle to block one lane of traffic, took over directing traffic around the scene, and coordinated with the emergency medical technicians once they arrived.

"Jonathan and Lilian's actions were absolutely critical to the safe resolution of all of these injury incidents," stated retired Air Force Maj. James Davis, a bystander at the event. "They stayed at the accident scene for nearly an hour before finally letting us convince them to go on with their big day. Their willingness to stop and render aid was a perfect example of our core value of service before self."

Desmond said it felt good to help, and that it didn't take too much time way from their day. After leaving the site, they explained to their son why they stopped and how important it was to assist those in need. Their son confirmed his understanding, and the family continued on with their day of celebration.