MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- While the official duty day may end, as an Airman, the call to help others in need has no rest. This rang particularly true when Senior Airman Joshua Wilson, 22nd Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment journeyman, heroically helped protect the lives of two individuals during the Fall of 2020.
“I never thought news of what happened would go above my squadron,” said Wilson.
In September of 2020, Wilson was checking out of a local store when his cashier suddenly collapsed and began to seize. As everyone around him froze with fear, Wilson immediately sprang into action to help the young woman.
“There was a girl that I went to high school with that suffered from seizures,” said Wilson. “Her parents paid for a seminar that trained us on what to do in that situation since our class schedules aligned with the ones she was taking.”
Less than a month later while on his way home from work, Wilson found himself once again in a dire situation when a truck next to him on the highway had hydroplaned and flipped upside down into a ditch. He and a few others immediately pulled over to help the man trapped in the car.
“He was unconscious and suspended upside down from his seatbelt,” said Wilson. “That’s when we noticed that the engine was starting to steam so we decided to kick out the passenger window to get to him. We were able to stabilize his neck and slowly let him down and out away from the vehicle in case the engine caught fire.”
Wilson’s commitment to help others is one that can also be witnessed within the gates of McConnell. In addition to his duties in the 22nd MXS, Wilson works alongside McConnell’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Team as a trained victim advocate. As an advocate he volunteers to help victims of sexual violence and provide them with crisis intervention, referral and ongoing nonclinical support, as well as providing information on available options and resources to assist victims in making informed decisions.
Wilson has since been selected as Air Mobility Command’s nominee for the 2021 United Services Organization Service Member of the Year Award. The USO SMOY Award recognizes an enlisted member in the grades of E-5 or below from each branch of the military who represents the standards and values of their respective service, as demonstrated through a specific act of heroism.
“I do it for the feeling I get from helping people,” said Wilson. “That’s pretty much all the praise that I feel I need.”