Story man recognized for helping military family
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — A Story man was recognized by the Arkansas Air National Guard on Thursday for coming to the aid of an Arkansas ANG captain and his family after their minivan became disabled in a rain-swollen roadway in August 2020.
Arkansas Air National Guard Col. Paul Jara presented the Adjutant General Diamond Award on behalf of Maj. Gen Kendall Penn to James Harrison, of Story, at AutoZone, 3834 Highway 7, Hot Springs Village, where he is employed, on Thursday.
Harrison’s actions exemplify the “volunteer mindset and the service-before-self spirit of the Minuteman,” Lt. Col. Keith Brannon, 188th Wing chief of safety, wrote in the award nomination. “It is an honor to have him as a citizen and reflects great credit on the state of Arkansas.”
The award is in recognition of Harrison’s actions the night of Aug. 29, 2020, when he helped rescue the disabled vehicle of Arkansas ANG Capt. Jeremy Cossey, his spouse, their 8-yearold daughter, and the couple’s
3-year-old twin daughters, an ANG news release said.
“The minivan the family was riding in impacted several feet of standing water due to flashflood conditions during a severe thunderstorm, stalling the minivan’s engine at approximately
10 p.m. on Highway 288 near Dragover, Ark.,” the release said.
“Harrison exited his twowheel-drive pickup truck he’d just driven through the same standing water and rushed to the aid of the family. The area has no cell service, so after ensuring their safety, he drove home, called 911, and returned with a four-wheel-drive pickup truck to tow the van out of the water. As he pulled the van from the water, the Sulphur Laverne Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene from the 911 call Harrison had placed,” it said.
“If not for his actions, the Cossey family would have been unable to seek aid for more than hour, due to the heavy downpour. The first vehicle to arrive at the scene, other than Harrison’s, was the fire department,” the release said.