SEOUL, Republic of Korea -- While working late into the night at Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2017, two U.S. Airmen spotted a crashed car on a dark, deserted Seoul street.
Major Jeremiah Guild, Deputy Air Boss Seoul ADEX 17, and Capt. Michael Day, Ground Boss, both assigned to 7th Air Force, Osan Air Base, had just finished receiving and securing the first-ever U.S. remotely piloted aircraft in Korean airspace, the RQ-4 Global Hawk, Oct. 17, around 1:30 a.m, when they stopped to check out the wrecked vehicle.
“We had just finished working for the day and were driving on this dark, back road when we saw the crash,” said Day. “Our first thought was, ‘Oh there was an accident earlier, and they haven’t towed the vehicle yet.’”
“Then, we slowed down and could see a Korean woman banging on the glass frantically trying to get out of her car,” Day continued.
Her car had sunken so deep into the drainage ditch on the side of the road that the side doors would not budge, Day and his wingman explained.
Guild and Day immediately jumped into action, forcing open the rear passenger’s side door and climbing in to pull the woman out of the wreck.
“The car was at such an extreme angle I had to climb down to get to her,” said Day. “So, I pulled her out and we took her across the street to safety.”
The Airmen felt they could not just leave her on a dark stretch of road, but, not being able to speak Korean, they could not communicate with her, so they phoned a friend.
“I was sleeping and got a call around 1:45 a.m.,” said Capt. Jacob Berry, 25th Fighter Squadron flight surgeon and ADEX DoD personnel and U.S. civilian doctor. “It was Major Guild asking me to talk to a lady that they had just pulled from her crashed vehicle. She seemed too calm to be just in an accident, so I advised them to call EMS just to be sure she was all right.”
Korean Emergency Management Services arrived, Berry explained the situation to them over the phone in Korean, and they took over from there.
“We’re here at the ADEX to show our commitment to our South Korean allies,” said Guild. “I brought my family with me to Korea, and the South Korean people have been very gracious, kind and amazing hosts to us. I know they wouldn’t hesitate to stop if I was on the side of the road and needed help—so of course I would stop for our friends here.”