A Houston man saved a choking Marine at a Boy Scout’s training course Friday by performing the Heimlich Maneuver.
Jessie Carr, of Troop 99 in Houston, said he was eating dinner at a Wood Badge Training event at Camp Arrowhead near Springfield when a man near him began choking.
“Literally, he was eating, coughed a little bit, gagged a little, stood up and I knew he was in trouble,” Carr said.
The man, Tim Diamond, is a Marine from Waynesville and stationed in Fort Leonard Wood. Carr said they had not previously met.
Carr said he performed the Heimlich several times before Diamond fell to the ground. He still couldn’t breathe. Two men nearby grabbed the 250-pound Diamond and held him up as Carr continued performing the Heimlich.
“He finally regained consciousness and came back to,” Carr said.
Carr said Diamond had choked on a potato.
“He said it scratched his throat and when he tried to cough, it came up and got stuck,” Carr said.
Carr is an automotive worker at Fort Leonard Wood. He works on military vehicles.