Newspaper Article on Doug's Act of Heroism

Doug's story was published in the Scott Air Force paper yesterday, Thursday, June 28th. The article is below, but if you wanted to go the link I've also included it here. 

http://www.amc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123306679

Lt.Col. Douglas Edwards, 906th Air Refueling Squadron commander, receives the Airman’s Medal from Lt. Gen. Mark Ramsay, 18th Air Force commander, in a ceremony at Scott Air Force Base Ill., May 21, 2012. Edwards received the award for rescuing an elderly woman from a burning vehicle Nov. 2, 2009, near King Hill, Idaho. Edwards succeeded in freeing the injured and trapped victim from her car just moments before the entire vehicle became engulfed in flames on the interstate. Local Sheriff Deputies responded within eight minutes of the initial 9-1-1 call about the accident and later told Edwards the victim would have been burned alive if he hadn’t acted so quickly. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Franklin Hayes)  Scott Col. receives Airman's Medal for act of heroism by Maj. Jennifer C. Howsare 126th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs  6/28/2012 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Lt. Col. Doug Edwards, 906th Air Refueling Squadron commander, had no idea he was on a course with destiny when he and his family began their 2009 trip from Joint Base Lewis-McChord Wash., to his new duty station at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. He and his wife, Joy, along with their three children, traveled separately in two vehicles on a desolate stretch of Interstate 84 near King Hill, Idaho, and his actions that day earned him The Airman's Medal. In the early morning hours of their travels, both Doug and Joy Edwards noticed smoke rising ahead on the highway. While neither knew the cause of the black plumes, he said he knew something was not right. "Within seconds, my family and I were the first to arrive on the scene of a single-car accident," he said. "My wife and I each pulled our vehicles to the side of the road and Joy placed a call to 911 as she watched me sprint toward the disabled and smoking vehicle." Edwards said he saw flames were coming from the engine and an elderly female driver was trapped inside the vehicle. He also assessed the driver was alone, and her legs were pinned under the dashboard. All of the windows had been shattered and both the driver and passenger side doors were jammed shut. "I tried to take command of the scene and began shouting instructions and coordinating rescue efforts," he said. "I initially struggled to hold back the fire with small fire extinguishers, but realized they were no match for the rapidly growing flames. "I recognized the only chance for a successful rescue was to remove the woman from the burning vehicle so I refocused on her," he continued. "By now, there was a small crowd gathering, but I noticed I was the only one struggling to pull the woman to safety. Edwards said he was unable to reach into the car to unlatch the driver's seatbelt but a young man lunged through the blown-out passenger side window and unlatched the belt. "About that same time, a second man joined forces with me and we were able to use our combined body weight to pry the driver side door almost off its hinges," he said. "However, once the door was opened I was alone again fighting to free the trapped woman. I noticed the driver was regaining consciousness and I shouted at her to wiggle her body to free her legs; it was then she slipped free from the car's grasp, and I was able to pull her to safety." He added that by that time he got her out, the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames, but the driver and he were a safe distance, so he began to asses her injuries. "My wife and I believe it was divine intervention that placed us near mile marker 129 on I-84 on that cold November day in 2009," he said. "Even though it only took first responders seven minutes to reach the scene after the first 911 call, the car was completely engulfed in flames upon their arrival." Three years later, the Edwards family say they're still humbled by the event and modest regarding recognition. "It was a complex set of circumstances that put us on that road at the right time," Edwards said. "Our memories of that morning still amaze us and the experience is very personal. I feel honored to be receiving attention for doing what, at the time, felt very natural and necessary." Despite his humility, he received The Airman's Medal in a small ceremony May 21. Lt. Gen. Mark Ramsay, 18th Air Force commander, presented the medal and complimented his courageous and humanitarian actions and recognized his acts of heroism involving voluntary risk of his life.

Doug Receives an Airman's Medal

Two and a half years ago Doug pulled a women from a burning car and saved her life. The Airman's Medal he received on Monday, May 21st was in recognition of his act of heroism. 

Click here to read about the story. 

It was a long process to award him this medal that was given to him by General Ramsey. His Decoration was personally signed by the Secretary of the Air Force, Mr. Michael Donley, and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Nortan Schwartz. The Airman's Medal is the 9th highest medal that can be awarded to an airman. It is actually higher in rank than a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

 Airman's Medal

Background
This decoration was established by 10 U.S. Code 8750, on July 6, 1960, and takes the place of the Soldier's Medal for Air Force personnel.

Criteria
It is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly nation who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Air Force after the date of the award's authorization, who have distinguished himself or herself by a heroic act, usually at the voluntary risk of his or her life but not involving actual combat. The saving of a life or the success of the voluntary heroic act is not essential. Do not award for normal performance of duties.

Medal Description
This medal was designed and sculpted by Thomas Hudson Jones of the Institute of Heraldry. On the obverse of the circular medal is the figure of the Greek god Hermes, son of Zeus, resting on one knee. He has just released from his open hands an American Bald Eagle, shown rising into flight. Within the raised rim of the medal, is the inscription Airman's Medal in raised letters. The reverse of the medal, has a raised outer edge and bears the inscription, For Valor above a space for the recipient's name which is within a stylized laurel wreath open at the top and tied at the bottom.

The Airman's Medal is unique in that its shape does not follow the octagonal shape of its counterparts, the Soldier's Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Coast Guard Medal. It had been established practice heretofore to design military decorations with a distinctive shape, so that they would not be confused at a distance with service or campaign medals, which are always circular in shape. The reason for this is because the design was originally approved for use as The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.

AWANA

I volunteered this year at AWANA which was a great experience. The kids enjoyed having me there and it was a lot of fun being there with them.

Ethan did an amazing job with his memory work this year. He finished his book, review scripture verses and extra credit book by February. Audrey finished her book and review scripture verses by May which was great for her, but Jacob was the one who knocked it out of the park. He finished his book, silver section and gold section. His teachers told me there has only been one other kid who finished all of those sections in one year. It was no small feat for him to complete. As we were getting close to the end he was losing hope, but I was cheered him on and he pressed forward to complete the book. For his final Gold section on his last night he had to say 75 scripture verses for memory. He didn't think he would be able to do it, but he did. He was so proud of himself and so was I.

This is our neighbor from across the street with Jacob.

Our Trip to California

  SACRAMENTO

The kids and I left to California on May 9th. We spent 4 days in Sacramento and 4 days in Madera.

While we were in California I met up with some friends from high school. Some of these ladies I hadn't seen since high school. It's definitely one of the benefits of connecting with friends through Facebook. We had a great time and I look forward to seeing them again.

Most of our time in Sacramento was spending time with Robyn and her family. The cousins had so much fun together and it was nice spending time with Robyn and Kevin. They always make our trips out there enjoyable.

Cheering Rachel on for her soccer game!

SACRAMENTO RAILROAD MUSEUM

I love their faces in this picture!

 Mother's Day turned out very special. Kevin spoiled Robyn, his mom and me by cooking us dinner. They also got a gift for me from "the kids" which was very thoughtful.

SAN JOSE

We visited my dad and his family in San Jose on our way down to Madera. We had a very nice day together. It was the first time I had met his daughter Molly and seen their new house. Audrey and Molly had a lot of fun playing together and Huyen cooked us some delicious Vietnamese food. 

MADERA

As usual our family is great for pulling out all the stops when we arrive. It always makes us feel so special and makes all those miles traveled so worth while. It doesn't matter who we see on our trip they always make our visit special. As we headed down to Madera, Faith had some fun things planned for the kids. One of those was going to Boomer's. While we were there Ethan hit the jackpot and earned 1000 tickets. We couldn't believe it. 

                               

 We ended our night at Boomer's by playing laser tag. We were the only ones in there which made it a lot of fun. Andrew was the big winner and beat everyone by a landslide.

For Audrey's birthday Grandma bought her and her doll matching outfits. She loved them.

The main reason for us going to California was seeing Andrew graduate from Fresno State. 

We are so proud of him!!!

Baseball Season

Baseball season was a lot of fun this year. We had the kids play for the Mascoutah Khoury League which is a great league for them to play in. The coaches were really good and it's in a small town near our house, so it has the small town feel with the people you meet. 

 Fredbird came out for picture day! He's very funny and had the kids laughing the whole time.

 Audrey wasn't normally dressed in curls for her games. It just so happened that she had her dance dress rehearsal the same day as a game. I think she really enjoyed looking like a princess while playing softball.

Ethan's game improved dramatically this year. He was one of the best players on the team. Right now he is all baseball all the time. He's practically memorized all the stats on his baseball cards and he has quite a few. He definitely knows all the players, who they play for and what position the play. 

Jacob's games were on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Ethan and Audrey would often get bored at the games and find a way to occupy themselves. They found dirt to be the best remedy for boredom and often required baths when we got home.

 They were so proud of their accumulation of dirt. This picture doesn't show it as well as it could, but they are covered from top to bottom. They spent quite a bit of time throwing the dirt up in the air so it could land on top of them.

Below was a typical scene from Audrey. I think her goal was to see how dirty she could get. It was trying on Doug's and my patience to watch, but she was having so much fun it didn't seem right to stop her from this simple enjoyment. And let's face it, it's way better than putting a phone in her face so she could play some games. 

CARDINAL'S KIDS CAMP

Jacob and Ethan went to a Cardinal's Kids Camp and guess who was there...Fredbird! How many kids get to get a picture with him twice in one year.

     

 Jacob worked so hard at baseball this year and it showed. Like Ethan, he improved dramatically from last year. We were very proud of him and loved seeing his determination to do well.

CARDINAL'S NIGHT AT BUSCH STADIUM

The Khoury League has a night at Busch Stadium each year. The kids got to walk around the perimeter of the field with their teams. However, since no one from Ethan's team showed up he walked with Jacob's team. Afterwards we had tickets to see them play the White Sox.