Master Sgt. Thomas Curran, a Newburgh resident, honored by Air Force for saving local residents life

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Col. Timothy LaBarge (left) commander of the 105th Airlift Wing presents the Air Force Commendation Medal to Master Sgt. Thomas Curran on Dec. 4, in recognition of his lifesaving actions.

STEWART AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, NY (12/30/2015)(readMedia)-- Master Sgt. Thomas Curran, a 105th Airlift Wing Airman from Newburgh who used CPR to save a life at a local restaurant in November has been awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his actions.

Curran, a full-time member of the wing, was honored for saving a customer at AIM Café on South Plank Road here on Nov. 13. The man was suffering from cardiac arrest when Curran came on the scene and took over conducting CPR from restaurant owner Al Blanco.

Curran, a member of the New York Air National Guard since 1990 and a 26-year veteran of the military, was recognized during a wing formation on Dec. 4.

Col. Timothy LaBarge, commander of the 105th Airlift Wing, said Curran's actions underscore the unique skillsets citizen-Airmen bring to the community.

"The benefits of having military members embedded in the community can be an attractive talking point, but sometimes we get to see that it is much more than just words," LaBarge said. "The recent lifesaving actions of Master Sgt Tom Curran demonstrate what happens when you combine the knowledge and skill gained in the military with the courage to act-a life can be saved, as it was in this case."

The Air Force Commendation Medal is awarded to Airman for outstanding achievement or meritorious service.

Curran is a military technician employed at the 105th Airlift Wing as a crew chief. A military technician is a federal employee of the National Guard who must also belong to that National Guard unit, and train and deploy with the unit, as a condition of employment.

On Saturday, Nov. 14 Curran went to the AIM Café as he had many times before, and was approaching the lunch counter when he realized something was wrong.

A clerk told Curran a man had collapsed, when Curran asked what was wrong. Curran, who is certified in CPR as a member of the Air National Guard, immediately made his way around the counter and into the dining room to find a crowd surrounding a man on the floor, suffering from what appeared to be cardiac arrest.

He then pushed through the crowd and found Blanco administering CPR. Blanco was performing CPR at the direction of 911 operators over the telephone.

Curran took over and Blanco said he was happy Curran did so.

"You could tell immediately he knew what he was doing," Blanco said. "I'm not certified, I haven't taken any courses, so I was just doing what the lady on the phone was telling me."

Emergency medical personnel arrived a short time later.

"It felt like forever. I don't even know how long it was," Curran recalled.

Curran then helped the medics administer an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and took it upon himself to drive to the hospital out of concern.

"I was really concerned to see if the guy made it or not," Curran said.

Blanco said he was impressed with Curran's actions that day, especially his going to the hospital afterward.

Curran's actions would have gone unrecognized had it not been for an email sent to his supervisor by Clinical Nurse Manager Joe Romeo, of St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital.

Romeo, a retired U.S. Army major, said if it wasn't for Curran's action the man would not have survived long enough to make in to the emergency room where he was treated and admitted to the intensive care unit for further care.

"He needed to be recognized," Romeo said. "There're too many times people that would just stand there and do nothing. He saw this man was in need of help and he stepped in and did what needed to be done.