El Toro : Serviceman Awarded Medal for Heroism
A 20-year-old Anaheim serviceman stationed at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station has been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps medal for heroism for aiding a pilot whose aircraft crashed and burned in an accident last year at Twentynine Palms, military officials said.
Lance Cpl. Dana L. Normand was temporarily assigned to a fire rescue detail at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center when an A-7 Corsair jet loaded with bombs and ammunition crashed at the Twentynine Palms base Aug. 15, 1984. Normand placed himself between the burning aircraft and the pilot--who ejected seconds before the crash and landed near the wreckage--and used hand extinguishers to keep the flames from spreading to the pilot.
Normand and other rescue personnel fought the fire as 20-millimeter rounds and other ammunition exploded in the flames.
According to the citation accompanying the recent award, Normand’s “courage, devotion, and heroic actions in the face of ordnance fire, exploding ammunition and potentially greater explosions contributed significantly to the safety of the pilot.”
The pilot recovered from his injuries.
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