KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- For his acts of heroism, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Roger Halle, 18th Civil Engineer Squadron assistant chief of operations, was recognized by Masaharu Noguni, city of Chatan mayor, during a ceremony Aug. 19, 2019, at the Chatan Town Office.
Halle was recognized for his use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation to save a child at a local beach.
“I would like to recognize Mr. Halle's great achievement for his quick response,” Noguni said. “Mr. Halle speedily and bravely saved a life by using his techniques from his profession.”
After the ceremony, Halle spoke about the incident and how he managed to contribute to saving the boy.
“My family and I were at Araha beach and heard some screaming coming from the other side,” Halle said. “We saw a man dragging a young boy out of the water. I went over and said, ‘I’m a firefighter how can I help’ and started assisting two off-duty lifeguards with CPR. I would do the breathing for the child every thirty chest compressions and then about ten to fifteen minutes later the Araha Fire Department showed up and took over from there.”
During the jumble of thoughts and emotions, Halle endured he was able to move confidently and swiftly to apply proper CPR methods because of the training he received for his occupation.
“As a firefighter, I’m CPR certified and that was what I used,” Halle said. “Being in the fire service and receiving that training … it’s one of those things that kicks in. I felt prepared for the incident because of it. I didn’t have to think about it, I just acted.”
Halle felt humbled from being recognized and the mayor’s acknowledgement. Feeling that most of his fellow service members would react the same as him.
“I was just thinking this is someone who needs help and I’ll do whatever I can,” Halle said. “I like to think most of us would do the exact same thing I did.”