U.S. Marines in Estonia save local civilian

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (WITN) - An Estonian man who began choking at a local eatery found out how handy it is to have a few good men around.

According to the United States Navy, three United States Marines entered the restaurant to have lunch and found the man in distress in a nearby booth.

Lance Cpl. Colton Allen, Lance Cpl. Christopher Butemeyer, and Lance Cpl. Aiden Morey are part of a Marine Corps task force that is deployed to Estonia as part of a training exercise.

The three men noticed the man who appeared to be unconscious and had turned noticeably blue.

According to the three Marines, they worked together utilizing tactical combat casualty care procedures to clear the man’s airway and help him regain consciousness.

“I wasn’t sure how I felt, but the training just kicked in. We did everything in our power to keep him alive until the emergency personnel arrived. It was a sigh of relief when we learned that we helped save him,” Allen said.

Paramedics at the scene said if the Marines hadn’t intervened, the man would have died.

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