The residents of Sin City give veterans the utmost respect and honor.
Five Hero Vets Who Saved Lives in Las Vegas
While most tourists and residents might not recognize a vet by looking at them, some veterans have come to the city’s rescue in times of crisis.
During the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival held in Las Vegas, the festival turned into a warzone when a gunman decided to fire into the crowd, injuring many people and killing 59. The causalities would have been higher if it weren’t for the prompt actions of heroes, including many veterans.
Below, we want to highlight five US veterans who sprang into action in that time of crisis, protecting the people around them and helping others find cover.
1. Taylor Winston (Marine Vet)
When the gunfire started, the 29-year-old Taylor Winston was enjoying a two-step dance with his girlfriend, Jenn Lewis, at the October 1, 2017, festival. Winston was a former marine and Iraq military veteran who served between 2006 and 2011. When the shooting first started, he assumed he was hearing fireworks.
However, as the crazy shooting continued, injured people started falling around him. Luckily, Winston and his girlfriend were not hit by the bullets. The couple joined the rest of the crowd in running away but were trapped by the barrier fence. Winston started throwing a bunch of people over the barrier fence so that they could escape from the shooting zone and look for cover.
According to an interview by CBS news, the veteran knew that he could not fight the shooters but instead, he could help the injured people. Winston opted to steal a truck and started driving the injured people to different hospitals in the city. He ran to a field where there were cars parked, checked for a truck with keys in it, and stole it.
Winston and his girlfriend started ferrying the injured people, and the first bunch of victims was taken to the Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center. There were so many injured people, and Winston wasn’t about to give up. He transported as many victims as possible, carrying ten to fifteen people on each trip.
At the end of the day, this Iraqi veteran managed to ferry 20 to 30 victims to different hospitals across the city. Winston later returned the truck he had used to the owner on Monday night.
2. Colin Donohue (Military Vet)
Colin Donohue was attending the Route 91 Harvest festival for the third time and was having fun with his friends when the shooting started. 35-year-old Donohue was a literacy specialist and had recently re-joined the Clark County School District after finishing his nine-month duty tour in Iraq. Donohue is a Las Vegas native who joined the US Armed Forces on December 9, 2009.
After the festival turned ugly, Donohoe knew he had to act fast.
He quickly helped the guy to his left who had been shot in the leg. He advised the victim to place his finger on the wound, hold his legs together and keep pressure. The veteran then speedily moved his friends to a safer spot and rushed back to the war zone, looking for victims who were not being assisted.
The second barrage of gunfire erupted as Donohue rushed to the field. He could see around eight to 12 people were already dead from head and chest shots. Still, the veteran continued guiding people away from the line of fire and offering medical assistance to the victims.
Most people were clueless about what to do since the majority lacked professional training to act in such a scenario. Donohue, on the other hand, continued helping victims.
3. Scott Yarmer (Marine Veteran)
Scott Yarmer, a Marine veteran, was enjoying the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas when the worst happened. When the gunfire started, most people went into panic mode, but Yarmer neither froze nor panicked when he first heard the gunfire. Instead, the veteran grabbed his friend and started pushing the people around him, helping them to look for safety. Most people were still standing, and some even assumed the gunfire was part of the show.
When the first round of gunfire stopped, Yarmer quickly started guiding people who were not severely injured away from the gunfire. In an interview with the press, he said his marine training was beneficial during the shooting.
4. John Tambien (Spokane Army Vet)
Army veteran John Tampien and his wife visited Las Vegas and opted to attend the most loved country music festival in Sin City, the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Little did the couple know they were risking their lives and would live to tell about it.
When John Tambien, a native of Oregon, first heard the gunshots, his first instinct was to protect his wife and other family members by shielding them using the chairs. Tambien moved them from the field towards the bar area and quickly turned the tables.
During an interview, Tambien noted that the shooting in Las Vegas was very different from the experiences he had experienced during his deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. The whole scene was chaotic, with everyone running, screaming, and shouting while having no idea where the gunman was.
5. Robert Ledbetter (Army Vet)
Army veteran Robert Ledbetter served as a scout sniper in the US Army Rangers when he went for a duty tour in Iraq. He was well-trained to face any challenge in any war zone, and he was present when the shooting started during the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival. Ledbetter was attending the festival with his wife. H
The 42-year-old army veteran and Las Vegas local quickly noticed the first gunshot, which sounded like a firework. Then next rounds of gunfire followed, and someone four rows ahead of them dropped down; soon, more people started dropping.
Ledbetter quickly moved his wife to the Neon Lounge in the VIP section, which had a roof, and provided them with some cover away. He shoved his wife beneath the seating platform as he tried to locate the gunman’s location. The Neon Lounge had an elevated stairwell that became a reliable escape route for most people at the festival. After hiding his wife, Ledbetter started helping the injured causalities by providing first aid services.
When the gunman wasn’t shooting, Ledbetter and his wife decided to move. The couple found a man who had been shot in the leg, wrapped a tourniquet, and then carried him out of the grounds towards Las Vegas Boulevard. They found a utility truck ferrying injured people to the hospital and put the man inside.