U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Bradley Feldkamp, a motor transport operator, left, Lance Corporal Nicholas Dural, an infantry rifleman, center, and Corporal John Darby, a flight equipment technician, right, all attending Marine Security Guard School at Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, pose for a photo after receiving the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for heroic acts performed while off-duty after an awards ceremony on Quantico, Virginia, April 6, 2023. The Marines received the award after intervening during an altercation between civilians involving a knife. The Marines successfully deescalated the situation, recovered the weapon and restrained the perpetrators until the police arrived on scene. (Cpl. Keegan Bailey/Marine Corps)
WASHINGTON — Three Marines credited with stopping a stabbing at a fast-food restaurant in Virginia received awards at a ceremony on Thursday morning from the Marine Corps, according to a service official.
Cpl. John Darby, Cpl. Bradley Feldkamp and Lance Cpl. Nicholas Dural received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for intervening in a fight in which two teenagers, 14 and 17 years old, allegedly attacked another teenager at a Chick-fil-A on Saturday afternoon in North Stafford, Va., Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Bragg said.
Witnesses told local police that one male teenager was approached by the other two, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. The three boys got into an argument before a physical altercation ensued. As the two teenagers assaulted the other teen, one of them pulled out a knife, police said.
The three Marines jumped into action and attempted to separate the parties. One Marine broke the knife in half and the two suspects quickly fled.
Deputies for the sheriff’s office responded to a disturbance call at about 1:41 p.m. at the restaurant, which is located at 25 Dunn Drive. No one was stabbed during the incident. The victim told the deputies his phone was stolen.
Deputies searched the area for the two suspects and took them into custody in a CVS parking lot. The victim’s phone was recovered and returned to him.
“Thank you to the hero Marines who stepped up. Without you, this altercation could have been a lot worse,” according to sheriff’s office.
The three Marines were students at the Marine Security Group School, taking a course to prepare them to act as security at U.S. embassies around the world.
Bragg said Darby and Feldkamp departed Thursday for the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, while Dural leaves next week for the U.S. Embassy in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
