Chaplain demonstrates service before self

Life is fragile. In responding to a call for help, seconds can mean life and death. This concept is something Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Gary Ziccardi took to heart after rescuing a drowning man while on vacation in St Croix, Virgin Islands, in November 2009.

Chaplain Ziccardi was relaxing on the beach one minute, and called upon to conduct himself in a heroic and selfless manner the next, in response to cries for help emanating from the rough seas in front of him. The chaplain did not hesitate, spurring a life-saving rescue effort. Chaplain Ziccardi was recently awarded the Airman’s Medal for his efforts that day (Nov. 3, 2009). Now the command chaplain at 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa), he received the award during a November commander’s call from 17th AF Commander Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward.

Though it was humbling to be recognized, the chaplain said he did what any Airman would do in that situation — he put service before self.

“As a human being, there would be a universal response to it. We all have a moral calling or obligation to do what we can in a given situation to defend or assist someone,” Chaplain Ziccardi said. “In that way, I don’t think I as a chaplain am different from anybody else. Any other Airman would try to put service before self.”

Having spent time in the water in a period that ended 15 minutes earlier, the chaplain had then assessed the situation as unsafe and was not confident in his own ability to deal with the conditions, leaving the water.

“There was a rip tide, the surf was churning and violent and there was an undertow — all factors that combined for me to come to the conclusion after only a few attempts that I needed to get out,” Chaplain Ziccardi said.

His concern proved to be well founded.

“I heard a faint cry for help,” the chaplain said. “I saw a person in the water, and little movement, crying for help. I took my shirt, sunglasses and hat off and I ran toward the water and swam toward him, about 20 yards out.”

Not knowing what he would find when he made it to the drowning man, the chaplain pushed his fear aside and began taking action. What he discovered was a man literally at his last gasp, no longer treading water, and unable to even grab hold of his rescuer.

“He had actually started to go under. He was just limp and not able to respond in any way,” the chaplain said.

Fortunately, another swimmer arrived seconds later — a man Chaplain Ziccardi later found out was a dive instructor. Both men began trying to get the victim to shore, but the waves were thrashing them apart, and they had to reestablish their contact with him several times. When they managed to get him ashore, the chaplain realized the sea was not the only thing impeding the rescue.

“When we finally reached the water’s edge, I realized the man was huge, weighing in excess of 300 pounds,” the chaplain said.

With the help of others on the beach, the men managed to maneuver the victim onto a lounge chair, but he was barely responsive. The second rescuer had an oxygen tank in his car, and the two men began to administer oxygen, which slowly brought him around. He was soon transported via ambulance to a nearby hospital where he continued to recover.

Police reports of the rescue made local news and ultimately, word got back to the chaplain’s command at the Air Force Chaplain Corps College at Fort Jackson, S.C. Chaplain Ziccardi was then serving as the chief of the school’s resource division. Unbeknownst to him, the chaplain’s superiors nominated him for the Airman’s Medal, which gained secretary of the Air Force approval in June.

Later reflecting on the incident, the chaplain realized the degree to which he had put himself at risk.

“I felt a fear as I took my shirt off, my hat off, my sunglasses off — I was going fast but they were all deliberate steps to push the fear aside and go to do what I could,” he said. “There was a person in distress and I needed to act. I didn’t have time to get existential and say, ‘am I going to drown out there?’

“That thought came after, when I realized that given his size, if he hadn’t been worn out, if he’d been conscious, his natural reaction would have been to hold on as tight as he could and we probably both would have drowned,” the chaplain continued.

Chaplain Ziccardi also later reflected on his actions from a chaplain’s perspective.

“As a minister of Jesus Christ, who taught that greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for his friends, upon my own processing and reflecting on it, bottom line was that I was willing, I did act,” the chaplain said.

The gratitude for being able to respond was also joined with a gratitude for the life saved and how fragile life can be. About a year before the rescue the chaplain’s son survived a potentially fatal accident, adding to the sentiment, he said.

“This impact of this rescue has caused me to be even more grateful and appreciative of every moment of life, and to communicate my love and my care to my family and those people that mean the most to me, because it can change just like that,” Chaplain Ziccardi said.

And, as a chaplain, the victim’s first words after being resuscitated were especially pleasing.

“Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.”