Charlee LeBlanc receives the American Red Cross Life Saving Award for Professional Responders at Camp Zama, Japan, on Sept. 24, 2024. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP ZAMA, Japan — A National Guard veteran was recognized here this week for a lifesaving act while working for the American Red Cross in Kuwait earlier this year.
Charlee LeBlanc received the Life Saving Award for Professional Responders during a ceremony Tuesday at Camp Zama, the headquarters for U.S. Army Japan just southeast of Tokyo.
The honor goes to those who use the skills they received in Red Cross training in first aid, CPR and automated external defibrillator or AED.
“Whether it’s in a moment of crisis or the daily routine, Charlee consistently displays unwavering dedication to the well-being of others,” Teodoro Feliciano, the Red Cross’ director of contingency operations for Service to the Armed Forces, said by email Thursday. “Charlee’s presence enriches our team not only with her skills and leadership but wither genuine warmth and kindness, making her a remarkable person to work with.”
LeBlanc was leading a fitness class at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on Jan. 26 when she noticed commotion across the hall, she recently told Stars and Stripes in her office at Zama, where she serves as a Red Cross regional program specialist. Soon, a man anxiously came into the class asking if anyone knew CPR.
LeBlanc and others from her class moved quickly to assist a U.S. contractor who had collapsed while playing on a nearby basketball court.
“I was in the right place at the right time, and I was able to provide aid,” she said. “It was a lot of adrenaline.”
Although LeBlanc teaches CPR, this was her first experience putting the technique to work in real life.
“Everything happens for a reason,” she said.
Red Cross regional program specialist Charlee LeBlanc works in her office at Camp Zama, Japan, on Sept. 24, 2024. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
LeBlanc said she found the man lying unconscious on the floor, taking shallow breaths. She believed he had just had a seizure, so she rolled him on his side.
LeBlanc then rolled the man onto his back, began chest compressions and called for an AED. Someone had already called 911.
After emergency workers arrived, LeBlanc was encouraged to continue her attempts to stabilize the man, who was eventually able to move to a Kuwaiti hospital and later to open heart surgery at a clinic in Dubai.
LeBlanc said she believes she saved the man’s life. He eventually returned to the United States.
“I am glad that I was there, because literally anything could have happened,” she said. “Red Cross, you know, we teach those lifesaving skills, we teach CPR, because you honestly never know when you will need it.”
LeBlanc, who spent seven years with the Louisiana Army National Guard, began work with the Red Cross in Los Angeles, then transferred to Royal Air Force Lakenheath in England. After five months in Kuwait, she found an opening at Zama, where she has been for about two months.
“I love it. I’m very grateful for my job — to get paid to be nice and help people is just the easiest thing to do,” she said.
“I am still able to work with military, every day I am still able to be in that environment without actually having to put the uniform on, so my experience definitely got me where I am today. I am just grateful for it.”
