Red Cross honors heroes

Staff report

VIENNA

Members of the 910th Airlift Wing, the Naval Operational Support Center and the Marine Corps Reserve’s Landing Support Equipment Co. of the 4th Landing Support Battalion, all at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station here, are the first recipients of the American Red Cross of the Mahoning Valley’s first Spirit of the Mahoning Valley Award.

“These brave men and women ... are our family, our friends and our neighbors. They risk their lives for our great nation, and the Red Cross is proud to name them the first recipients of the award,” said Karen E. Conklin, executive director

Also honored for their heroism Tuesday were nine individuals and groups for their acts of heroism. They received the local Red Cross Acts of Courage Awards presented during the event at the Winner Aviation Hangar at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

The nine local heroes who performed extraordinary acts of courage are:

Susan Hernan, Sierra Hernan, and Mahoning County deputy sheriffs Jose Sanchez and Steve Morlan: In August 2010, Sue Hernan was visiting Mill Creek Recreation Center at Berlin Lake with her two grandchildren, Sierra Hernan, 6, and Billy Hernan, 8. Sue took the children to the rest room. Billy returned to the lake and went out onto the water on a boogie-board by himself. At a point about 25 yards from shore where the water was over his head, he lost his grip on the board and began struggling in the water. Sue and Sierra heard Billy’s cries for help. Sue swam out to her grandson followed by Sierra on an inflatable ring. Sue went beneath the water and lost consciousness. Sierra made it to her brother who was able to hang on to the inflatable ring.

Morlan and Sanchez were patrolling the camping area and heard screaming. They ran to the water’s edge, advised those on shore to call 911, stripped off their equipment, swam out and brought all three to shore. Morlan initiated CPR on Sue, but she died. She sacrificed her own life in an attempt to save the life of her grandson. Although Sierra knew the water was extremely deep, she knew her brother was in trouble and she made every effort to reach him with her inflatable ring. Sierra’s heroic act prevented a double fatality from occurring, and without thinking of their own safety, Morlan and Sanchez risked their lives to save others.

James Noyes: On a cold, snowy day in January, Noyes was driving north on Salt Springs Road, Youngstown, when he saw a vehicle hit a guardrail and slide down a 70-foot embankment, flip upside down and land in 5 feet of water. He turned his car to block traffic and ran down the embankment to help. Noyes checked to make sure no one else was in the vehicle besides the driver, who was unable to put forth any effort because of the accident. Noyes pulled the submerged man from the wreckage to dry land and gave the injured man his shirt and jacket to keep warm until help arrived.

Jamail Johnson: A Youngstown State University senior, Johnson was enjoying an evening with friends in February as part of a gathering of about 50 people at an off-campus house. Two men left the house angry over a dispute. The two men returned later that evening and sprayed bullets into the crowd. Johnson was trying to maintain peace among everyone and usher people to safety. His life was taken while putting other’s safety before his own.

Jerry Sandrock: Sandrock had just dropped his daughter at the Ice Zone when he spotted smoke, which led him to a condo on Southwestern Run Road where flames were shooting out of the garage. He pounded on the windows to see if anyone was inside and then broke the door down to get an elderly man out, made sure no one else in the condo, and waited for firefighters to arrive.

Staff Sgts. Ernest Moore and Brendan Fergus: On an afternoon in April, Moore and Fergus were driving on Market Street in Youngstown when they noticed a middle-aged man walking along a bridge. Moore and Fergus noticed the man was disoriented and bleeding from his scalp. Moore looked back and saw the man climb over the guardrail and appeared to be getting ready to jump. Without hesitation, Moore and Fergus turned the car around, and while Fergus called 911, Moore began to talk to the man, urging him not to jump. Moore and Fergus were successful in persuading the man to step back from the bridge’s edge.