Marine earns service’s highest non-combat award for vehicle rescue

A U.S. Marine was awarded the service’s highest non-combat award on Feb. 6 for heroic actions in 2024, when he saved another Marine’s life following a motor vehicle accident.

Staff Sgt. Billy Scafidel, an armory chief with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion in the 1st Marine Logistics Group, received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, California, according to a release.

On Sept. 1, 2024, Scafidel was working outside of his home near the installation’s Del Mar Boat Basin when he heard a loud splash in the ocean.

Upon investigating the sound, he discovered a truck lying on its side, half submerged in the water, after the driver lost control of the vehicle, according to the release.

Scafidel quickly enlisted the help of a nearby friend, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Andrew James, then grabbed a hammer before returning to the scene, according to the release.

At the site of the accident, the pair saw an individual inside in imminent danger of drowning. The driver was stuck in the seat, the doors were locked and the driver’s side of the vehicle was quickly filling with water.

“In the moment, the only thing I was worried about was getting him out of that truck as quickly as possible,” Scafidel said in the release.

The Marine used the hammer to quickly smash the front windshield of the vehicle and create an opening for the individual trapped inside, per the statement.

As Scafidel continued to break the windshield, a military police officer, Sgt. Jason Baughman with Provost Marshall’s Office, Marine Corps Installations West, arrived and aided Scafidel.

Scafidel and Baughman broke the windshield further to create ample space for Scafidel to reach through and pull the driver from the crash onto the shore’s bank, the release states.

Before ensuring the driver received medical attention, Scafidel dived back into the water to confirm no other passengers were in the truck.

The driver was transported to a nearby naval hospital, where he made a full recovery.

“In the face of adversity when a life was on the line, Staff Sgt. Scafidel, without care for his own safety, put himself in a position to make a difference,” Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Marc McGlothlin, a senior leader of HNS Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, said in the release.

The fire department’s personnel assessed Scafidel for injuries after the rescue, finding his hands were “bleeding and shredded,” the memo reads.

Scafidel, however, said he couldn’t feel anything at the time and didn’t realize his hands were severely cut, the release says.

The statement says the award was bestowed on Scafidel in recognition of his “selflessness and valor” in saving a Marine’s life.