MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (KFGO) – A U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant at Minot Air Force Base has been honored for saving the life of an Airman after a cut left the Airman on the verge of bleeding to death.
According to the Air Force, Staff Sgt. Nicholas Thompson of the 5th Security Forces Squadron assigned Airman 1st Class Cedric Amoranto the task of spreading salt on the icy pavement at the Magic City Gate at Minot Air Force Base.
Amoranto had trouble opening a new bucket of salt and asked Thompson for his utility knife. In the process of opening the bucket, Amoranto cut himself.
Initially, Amoranto thought it was just a cut to his finger, but when he returned to the gate, Thompson saw a deeper cut on Amoranto’s forearm that sliced open an artery.
Thompson immediately applied a tourniquet above the cut while another Airman called emergency services.
Amoranto was taken to the hospital and treated.
“When I arrived at the hospital, the doctor told me I would have bled out in three minutes if it weren’t for Thompson quickly applying the tourniquet,” Amoranto said.
Thompson was awarded The Air And Space Achievement Medal.
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