Marine Honored For Saving Boy While On Vacation

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA -- A Marine was awarded a medal in Twentynine Palms this summer for rescuing a boy while on vacation in Arizona. Lance Cpl. Tucker Watson-Veal of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was given the Navy and Marine Corps Medal — the highest medal for noncombat valor a Marine can receive.

Watson-Veal told The Marine Times the boy was rescued from the "fast moving" Salt River during his vacation in September 2016.

"To beat the current, Watson-Veal pushed up river past the child before plunging into the icy cold waters," the Marine Times reported. "After approaching the boy, Watson-Veal latched onto him with one arm while grabbing onto a tree branch."

A Sheriff's Department report stated Watson-Veal risked his own life to save the boy against the dangerous river, the news site said.

Read the full story here.

--U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Preston L. Morris