I know many people feel very helpless in emergency situations and many don’t really care about anyone else, as long as they are ok. As a child I witnessed an older gentleman collapse and die on a Philadelphia street corner while people stepped over his body to get to wherever they were going. Getting that off my chest, I do know through conversations I have had, a great many of the helpless feeling people would rather not feel that way but they find for various reasons that it’s difficult to acquire the proper training and have limited knowledge of and fear of the liabilities involved.

Sometimes you just have to do what you can. On May 3 1999 minutes after one of the most devastating tornados in recorded history ripped through Del City Oklahoma we were in the effected area. The people we helped could care less what type of training we had they just wanted to be helped and they were grateful. Being members the USAF we all had some limited first aid training. We were not anywhere near as qualify as the rescue professionals but we felt qualified and confident enough to render the assistance our backs, hands and brains could render. We moved lots of rubble to get trapped people out and treated many injuries. Granted that was a very extreme circumstance but if I was having a heart attack on a city street corner and someone passing by knew and administered CPR to me even if they didn’t have a current CPR certification, at least somebody tried to do what they could to save a life. I know my family would be grateful and not sue. When the professionals arrive let them go to work and stay out of their way but if waiting around and not acting means somebody dies, then do what you can and to hell with the attitudes others have.