Army
Pennsylvania National Guard soldier aids distressed woman on Inauguration Day
Stars and Stripes
January 22, 2025
Pfc. Sean Gereaghty, a soldier of the Pennsylvania National Guard, assigned to the 1069th Military Police Company, 165th Military Police Battalion, 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. Gereaghty provided life-saving assistance to a distressed woman during Inauguration Day in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. (David Boyles/U.S. Army National Guard )
“Always Ready, Always There.”
Pfc. Sean Gereaghty, a soldier of the Pennsylvania National Guard, exemplified the branch’s motto on Monday when he quickly responded to a distressed woman experiencing severe chest pains.
With less than one year of experience as an emergency medical technician, Gereaghty provided life-saving assistance until emergency medical services arrived.
“Helping people feels good, especially when the outcome ends up being a positive one,” said Gereaghty, who is assigned to the 1069th Military Police Company, 165th Military Police Battalion, 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.
Gereaghty and a fellow service member were stationed at a traffic control point in Washington on Inauguration Day when they were alerted about a nearby woman who collapsed and had indicators of a heart attack.
Upon arrival at the scene, Gereaghty performed a medical assessment, monitored the woman’s vital signs and gathered her medical history from family members — despite a language barrier.
“After high school I joined the National Guard and got my EMT certificate during annual training,” he said. “I returned home and became an EMT full-time shortly after.”
Once EMS personnel arrived, Gereaghty provided them with the details of the incident and passed along information about the woman’s medical history, current status and the care he’d provided up to that point. The woman was loaded onto the ambulance to receive emergency medical care.
Nearly 8,000 National Guard service members from across the country supported the 60th Presidential Inauguration. Guardsmen provided critical support such as crowd management, traffic control points, CBRN response, civil disturbance response and sustainment operations.