By Meg Jones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
APPLETON, Wis. — A Wisconsin National Guard combat medic who helped save the life of a woman injured in a car crash has received the military’s highest medal for valor in noncombat.
Sgt. Michael C. Black, 24, of Brookfield received the Soldier’s Medal at a ceremony this month at his unit’s Appleton armory.
“It was an honor to be recognized like that. There’s a lot of guys out there who do a whole lot more than I can ever do but it’s nice to be recognized,” Black said in a phone interview Thursday.
Black and two soldiers from Plymouth-based Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery were training in January 2013 near the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for deployment to Afghanistan when they drove up to the scene of an accident. It was early in the morning and at first the crash looked like a fender bender because the driver was walking around and there didn’t appear to be much damage to the vehicle.
But the Wisconsin soldiers soon discovered the passenger, Linda Hartman, a mother of two who had just finished her overnight security shift at the missile base, was dying.
Both of Hartman’s legs were broken and her femoral artery was severed from a compound fracture. Black ran to get his medical kit and quickly placed a tourniquet around her leg to stem the flow of blood, treating her for shock until paramedics arrived. Hartman also suffered four cracked ribs and a cracked sternum.
Forty-eight hours later Black and the rest of Bravo Battery shipped out to Afghanistan. The other two soldiers, Spc. Joshua April and Sgt. 1st Class Todd Richter, received Army Commendation Medals.
It turned out Hartman’s injuries were the worst Black saw throughout his predeployment training and a tour of Afghanistan. Hartman was so grateful for the soldiers’ help she asked her husband to call Fort Bliss and track them down. When she learned they had already deployed, she was able to connect with her guardian angels through social media and sent care packages filled with their favorite treats.
Black, who serves in Headquarters Co., 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, found out earlier this year about the Soldier’s Medal. He’s a junior majoring in history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Black still stays in touch with Hartman.
“She’s still going through physical therapy, she’s coming along,” Black said.
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