Columbia Star

1963        Celebrating 60 Years      2023

Columbia veteran receives award for saving another veteran’s life on Veterans Day



Jonathon Upton

Jonathon Upton

The Red Cross of South Carolina awarded its highest honor in a recent ceremony to Jonathon Upton of Columbia. The award recognizes him for saving the life of a veteran who was choking at a Veterans Day event. Upton, trained through the Red Cross First Aid/CPR/ AED course, received the Certificate of Merit, the highest award given by the Red Cross to individuals who save or sustain a life using skills learned in a Red Cross Training Services class.

On November 11, 2019, Upton helped save the life of a veteran who began to choke at a restaurant. Upton was walking through the restaurant when he noticed a gentleman bent over in his wheelchair with a hand cupping his throat. Upton went to the gentleman and determined he was choking. He was given permission to start administering back blows. The food in the gentleman’s airway was released, and the gentleman once again was able to breathe. Without a doubt, the skills learned in the American Red Cross Training Services course helped to save the life of this gentleman.

“Jonathon’s remarkable and life-saving actions epitomize the mission of the Red Cross to help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. They also highlight the importance of our training programs in South Carolina,” said Nancy Cataldo, the regional director of Armed Services. “Jon is always the first to step up to the plate. We are very proud of him. Thanks to his quick thinking and skills, Jon is an inspiring example of just how valuable training can be in an emergency.”

“It means the world to get the award,” Upton said. “I have to thank the Red Cross, its instructors and the service it provides as far as giving me educational tools to be able to succeed in a situation like that. My response was second nature because of the training I had.”

Red Cross training gives people the knowledge and skills to act in an emergency and save a life. A variety of online, blended (online and in-person skills sessions), and classroom courses are available at redcross.org/takeaclass.

“I have four kids and I hope when they see this award up on the wall it will encourage them to always do their best in situations, especially in life saving ones,” said Upton.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.