HURLBURT FIELD — In a solemn ceremony attended by the commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command, the seldom bestowed Airman’s Medal was presented Friday to U-28 pilot Capt. Brian Steorts.
The Airman’s Medal is given to those who show great courage and selflessness outside the field of battle by risking their lives for others.
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AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel told about 100 people at the ceremony that Steorts’ was the first Airman’s Medal he’d pinned to a uniform in his 32 years in the Air Force.
“Your daddy and your son is indeed a hero,” Fiel told members of Steorts’ family, who were given front-row seats at the presentation.
Steorts and his family were concluding a day on the beach on Okaloosa Island on April 19, 2011, when he heard a man calling for help.
Steorts, who described himself as “an average swimmer,” looked up to see three children who had been caught in a rip current and swept out into the Gulf.
He went in after the children and was able to get hold of two of them. He carried them to another responder, then went back and found the third child, who had been pulled to the bottom about 6 feet below the surface, said Capt. Caleb Pletts, who was called upon Friday to tell the Steorts’ story.
Once he had the third child on shore, Steorts provided first aid to the family members.
“His actions reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force,” said Pletts.
After the ceremony, Steorts quietly shrugged off his actions, which probably saved three lives.
“I just reacted,” he said.
“I don’t think I did anything anyone else wouldn’t have done,” he said. “I work with a bunch of heroes every day.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.