Rescue above and beyond

BRIAN A. DAVIS has a guardian angel - make that three - sitting atop his shoulder.

He's fortunate, because it appears he was driving his motorcycle as if he had a death wish.

Three Navy sailors came to Davis' rescue in the pre-dawn hours Saturday morning, risking their lives after Davis was thrown from his motorcycle on westbound Interstate 64 on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. He's lucky the other men were trained in emergencies - and happened by the scene shortly after the accident.

A State Police spokesman said Davis, who's also in the Navy, was traveling at more than 100 mph when he apparently lost control as he approached the tunnel entrance. The cycle slammed into a wall, and he was flung into the water alongside the bridge-tunnel complex.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Edgar Ardon, 22; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason Murphy, 23; and Petty Officer 3rd Class Elisandro Leal, 22, all temporarily assigned to the onboard security force on the Carl Vinson, were returning to Newport News. They saw the wreck and stopped. Leal spotted Davis in the water and used a cell phone to call authorities. Ardon and Murphy stripped off their outer clothes and jumped into the 52-degree water.

They rescued Davis, brought him to some huge rocks, and Ardon began CPR because the motorcyclist had stopped breathing. He coughed up water. Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter. Davis was in critical condition at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital on Monday.

That the men disdained their personal safety to rescue Davis is heroic, even though they dismissed such labels. "I'm not a hero, just a person serving in the military and trying to serve others when they need it," Ardon told The Pilot's Steve Stone.

Yes, they are prepared to serve their country at home or abroad as part of our military. But even acting as civilians, they served their fellow man in a risky rescue. That is worth celebrating.