Sailors with Patrol Squadron 9 await Melvin Heckman’s arrival at Hangar 104 aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii on December 2, 2016. Heckman is known for rescuing sailors from the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor after the ship was attacked by Japanese Zeros. "I reached out to grab a man's hand to help him up and take him to the island," said Heckman, a Sheridan, Wyoming, native. "I got him out of the water and saw that everything below his belly button was missing; he died in my arms" Heckman was awarded a purple heart for his bravery after receiving burn wounds from an explosion by
Sailors with Patrol Squadron 9 await Melvin Heckman’s arrival at Hangar 104 aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii on December 2, 2016. Heckman is known for rescuing sailors from the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor after the ship was attacked by Japanese Zeros. "I reached out to grab a man's hand to help him up and take him to the island," said Heckman, a Sheridan, Wyoming, native. "I got him out of the water and saw that everything below his belly button was missing; he died in my arms" Heckman was awarded a purple heart for his bravery after receiving burn wounds from an explosion by a Japanese bomber and rescuing service members. ( Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Isabelo Tabanguil)
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Photo credit: © AB Forces News Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: 2, 9, arizona, bomber, harbor, heart, japanese, patrol, pearl, purple, squadron, survivor, uss, vp-9, war, world, wwii
