The American Red Cross serving King and Kitsap counties honored Kirkland resident James Freeman March 26 at its 2009 “Everyday People, Everyday Heroes” breakfast at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
Overlake Hospital Medical Center sponsored Freeman’s Armed Forces in Action award.
Last November, Technical Sergeant James Freeman and fellow aeromedical evacuation crew members were alerted for an urgent mission while based in Balad, Iraq. They needed to transport a civilian who had been hit 12 hours earlier by an improvised explosive device to the Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany for life-saving surgery.
The unconscious patient was transferred from a helicopter to a C-17 where TSgt. Freeman was waiting to help. The patient was placed on a backboard and into a C collar to stabilize him during the flight. Freeman’s job for the next six hours of flight was to keep the patient stabilized – and alive. Thanks to Freeman’s tenacity, expertise and compassion, the injured civilian arrived without complications.
Like many of his more than 100 patients treated during 18 aeromedical evacuations on his last tour in Iraq, he does not know the name of the person he saved. Yet, he feels honored to help.
“I would love to say that I know what this brave young man is doing now, but we in military medicine have no idea what impact our work is making on any one person’s life,” says Sgt. Freeman. “I pray that at least one person’s life is changed for the better because of my work with the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.”
When he is not serving as an Air Force Reservist, Freeman works at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland where he lives with his wife and stepson. His family has always supported his endeavors and he understands the strain and stress it puts upon them when he is away.
“I choose to lead a quiet and rather uneventful life and prefer to be at home with my family,” Freeman said. “However, I have struggled with a calling in my life that I haven’t been able to ignore. I know I’ve been called to help people.”
Eleven heroes were honored at the 13 Annual Breakfast, sponsored by Costco Wholesale. All proceeds will support disaster relief efforts in King County.
