Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego -- Heroes are often times everyday citizens who are in the right place at the right time who help others in need. In one such moment in time, a young Marine was in the right place at the right time to help a woman caught in quickly rising flood waters during a recent storm.
Cpl. Jason Martin, military police officer, Headquarters and Service Battalion, is being called a hero, but believes he was just doing his job.
“It was a crazy night to begin with,” said Martin, a native of Chicago. “We had alarms going off all over base because of the rain we were getting.”
Floods happen quickly in San Diego because the city doesn’t get much rain throughout the year, so when heavy rain comes quickly, it causes trouble on the roadways.
“I looked at the gate and noticed the area around the inbound gate was flooded,” said 27-year-old Martin. “I did what I was supposed to do and called it in and went up to the guard shack to tell them what I saw.”
Martin explained he went back out of the gate to assess the flooding on the connecting street to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot’s main gate.
“I had my flashlight out and saw the water level was pretty high,” explained Martin. “I looked down under the bridge and saw what appeared to be a van.”
As Martin shined his flashlight on the van he saw a woman panicking in her vehicle, so he rushed to help her.
“The door was locked,” said Martin,” I tried to calm her down and have her reach under the water to unlock one of the sliding doors to the van.”
The water was up to the 6-foot 2-inch Marine’s chest and was only getting deeper, putting more pressure on the vehicle’s doors, making it increasingly harder to open.
“Anchoring my foot behind the wheel, I just pulled on the door,” said Martin. “It took me a couple tries, but eventually I was able to muscle it and pull it open.”
As he pulled the woman out of the vehicle she told him that she did not know how to swim, so he put her on his back and got them both to safety.
Martin is very humbled about the situation and doesn’t consider himself a hero for his actions.
“It’s what I am here to do,” said Martin. “I am thankful that I was there to help because there is no way she would have made it. It’s just a part of my job.”