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Recruiters save life at Motley Crue concert

  • Published
  • By Amy Bartholomew
  • Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  "All recruiters change lives, but some save lives too," said Col. Jay Fitzgerald, 360th Air Force Recruiting Group commander, after hearing of the heroic acts of members from the 313th Recruiting Squadron working at a Motley Crue concert Sept. 5.

The recruiters were volunteering for a fundraiser at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Batavia, N.Y., when a man was suddenly carried into their booth bleeding profusely from a 4-inch gash in his thigh.

"We immediately went into action," said Tech. Sgt. Richard Wager. "It was as if everyone in our group just knew what to do. We laid him down, stripped off our shirts and applied pressure to the wound to get it to stop bleeding."

Glen Hall, a six-year Air Force veteran and husband to Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hall, began applying pressure to the wound. Master Sgt. Brian Driscoll instinctively held the victim's head trying to keep him calm so he wouldn't go into shock.

Sergeant Wager ran to inform security and to call for an ambulance. When the bleeding wouldn't stop, a make-shift tourniquet, made out of belts and a money apron, was applied to the leg. Staff Sgt. Paul Golembiewski tightened the tourniquet as much as possible as Mr. Hall continued to apply pressure.

"I thought he had just got into a fight, I did not realize his wound was that intense," Sergeant Wager said. "Our Air Force training kicked it and it felt natural to step in and help the individual."

The 23-year-old victim had jumped into the middle of a fight to defend a friend and was stabbed in the process. He later needed 28 stitches to close the wound.

The members of the 313th RCS continued to care for Mr. Bieganski for approximately 15 minutes until emergency personnel arrived at the scene and took over.

"[Emergency Room officials] told us five more minutes and he would have been a goner," Sergeant Wager said. "We had helped save his life."

"I really believe he got lucky being carried into our military booth, since we have had the first-aid training and know how to keep cool under pressure, we immediately knew what to do and were able to keep calm and assess the situation," he said.