A Marine Corps corporal was awarded the service's highest honor for non-combat valor for saving a man's life in a car crash in North Carolina in 2014.
Cpl. David Qualls, a motor transport assistant chief with Marine Wing Support Squadron 471, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Forces Reserve, was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal at the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment headquarters in Houston, Texas on May 20.
Qualls and Cpl. Nathan Bryson, a Marine veteran who served as a motor transport operator for the Headquarters and Support Battalion at the School of Infantry East at Camp Lejeune, were returning to Camp Geiger when they came upon a multiple vehicular accident on the Sneads Ferry Bridge.
"I just knew something was off," Qualls said. "We immediately got out and went to help."
Upon closer inspection, the two realized what was happening — one of the vehicles was slowly catching fire. A white SUV driven by Larry Flesher, an electrical technician from Valdosta, Georgia, had him pinned down with a broken femur, arm and ankle.
"Being a Marine definitely affected my reaction," Qualls said. "But being a Marine and having another Marine come for help, I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. This is what we do."
"I'm incredibly proud of him, the whole family is," said his uncle Bert Qualls. "He's got a great heart and we wouldn't expect anything different from him. He's a person of valor."
According to Federal Regulation code 10 U.S.C. 6246, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal is awarded to "any person who distinguishes them self by heroism not involving conflict with the enemy. For acts of life-saving, or attempted lifesaving, it is required that the action be performed at the risk of one's own life."
Lt. Col. Vincent Dawson, executive officer of Marine Aircraft Group 41, Marine Forces Reserve, said the "award recognizes [Qualls'] bravery; putting himself between a fire and a person trapped in a vehicle, and the danger he put himself into."
Rachael Kalinyak is an editorial intern with Network Solutions.
