By Kevin Howe
Monterey County Herald
MONTEREY, Calif. — Two soldiers and a civilian paramedic were honored Tuesday at the Naval Postgraduate School for assisting a Monterey man who was attacked by a shark off Marina State Beach on Oct. 29.
Eric Tarantino, 27, was bitten along the right side of his body by a shark that took a 19-inch chunk from his red surfboard. He had wounds on his neck, shoulder, wrist and forearm by the time the two soldiers, Army Maj. Jonathan G. Bleakley and Master Sgt. Garric M. Banfield, brought him to shore.
There, paramedic Lorenzo Navarro of American Medical Response rendered first aid. Tarantino was flown to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, treated for his injuries and released two days later.
Bleakley, 36, and Banfield, 38, are surfing buddies and classmates at the Navy school, where they are taking a course in defense analysis. Both are veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, where they served with civil affairs units.
They were decorated with the Army Commendation Medal.
Navarro, 35, has been a paramedic with AMR ambulance service since 2001. NPS awarded him a certificate of commendation.
All three awards were presented by Army Col. Greg Wilson, ranking officer at the school’s Army Student Detachment and a member of the faculty.
“These guys were ready when the call came,” he said. “We train them to go into harm’s way, and the skills they learn let them give back to the nation and community. These guys became the dream team.”
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