By Dorothy Meindok
The Post Newspaper Veterans Consultant
Happy Halloween Weekend! Tomorrow evening will be filled with trick or treating, candied apples and stories of ghouls and goblins. There are many gory tales to go around but I like to look for the ones with silver linings because there is usually at least one where an all-natural hero surfaces like United States Navy Hospital Corpsman William T. Ericson, who was recently awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for non-combat heroism on October 20, 2022
I want to share this story because it’s the kind of good news that most media outlets fail to share anymore but is exactly the kind of positive content our paper strives to include. I heard about the story on Instagram (IG), a social media outlet I use for inspiration, personal support, and creative self-expression. The IG handle “Disgruntled Docs 2” shared the sea-related tale and I like the way it demonstrates the humanitarian side of military training and first response. It reveals something I have seen in our most fearsome and notorious warriors as well as the meek, occurring naturally – an ever present and natural, duty bound, heart.
Ericson was off duty, hiking in May of this year when he saw a sea vessel adrift offshore. The shoreline was rocky and the waves of the six foot seas were crashing into it, taking the vessel with it. Over 30 people were at risk and many abandoned ship while others faced the impact and destruction. This left many with nothing more than a piece of wreckage to cling to for flotation in cold, 60-degree water. That is when Ericson entered the water and began pulling people safely to shore. The rip current had claimed a few of the survivors and pushed them farther out to sea among diesel fuel and remnants of the wreckage. Ericson swam out over 100 meters into the swells and cut free four people, who were actively drowning from subsurface entanglements and assisted them in reaching the stable and capable arms of first responders of San Diego’s Fire Department Rescue Watercraft Unit.
Ericson joins the ranks of other Navy and Marine Corps Medal recipients such as President John F. Kennedy and Master Chief Petty Officer and Navy Master Diver Carl Brashear. The medal is the highest non-combat award for heroism while demonstrating a selfless and life-threatening act of intervention to safeguard life. Well done, HN Ericson in helping to rewrite the ending of what could have gone down in history as another tragic nightmare.
This is just one story that was formally recognized but is part and parcel of everyday acts of heroism in action given us by our military, first-responders, and veterans. Be sure to give these men and women a supportive, Medal of Honor smile or simply wave hello when you see them in your neighborhoods.
Have a fun, safe and blessed Hallow’s Eve.
Dorothy Meindok is The Post Newspaper’s Veterans Consultant. Ms. Meindok served her nation in the United States Navy and is currently a practicing lawyer advocating for our nation’s veterans. Her column appears on Sundays.
