Lance Cpl. Tucker Watson-Veal, scout, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, stands before Lt. Col. John S. Kinitz, commanding officer, 3rd LAR, and Sgt. Maj. Luis M. Ortega, sergeant major, 3rd LAR, during a ceremony at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., May 24, 2018. Watson-Veal was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal after rescuing a drowning person from rapid currents while on leave in 2016. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Preston L. Morris)
Lance Corporal Tucker C. Watson-Veal of the United States Marine Corp was recently awarded the prestigious Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. Reporter Andrew Dieleman tells us why…
Lt. Col. John S. Kinitz, commanding officer, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, awards Lance Cpl. Tucker Watson-Veal, scout, 3rd LAR the Navy and Marine Corps Medal during a ceremony at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., May 24, 2018. Watson-Veal was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal after rescuing a drowning person from rapid currents while on leave in 2016. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Preston L. Morris)
While on leave at the Lower Salt River in 2016, the then-Private-First-Class Tucker C. Watson-Veal swam 200 yards through river rapids to rescue a boy who had been swept away by the current. Watson-Veal held onto the boy in the river, treading water for 15 minutes to keep the boys from drowning until more help arrived. Watson-Veal’s heroic actions were recognized by President Donald Trump and Commandant Robert Neller with the Navy and Marine Corp Medal, the highest non-combat medal that can be awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corp. Watson-Veal was awarded with the prestigious medal on May 24 at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms.
Lance Cpl. Tucker Watson-Veal, scout, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, stands before Lt. Col. John S. Kinitz, commanding officer, 3rd LAR, and Sgt. Maj. Luis M. Ortega, sergeant major, 3rd LAR, during a ceremony at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., May 24, 2018. Watson-Veal was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal after rescuing a drowning person from rapid currents while on leave in 2016. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Preston L. Morris)Lance Cpl. Tucker Watson-Veal, scout, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, accepts his award citation for the Navy and Marine Corps Medal during a ceremony at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., May 24, 2018. Watson-Veal was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal after rescuing a drowning person from rapid currents while on leave in 2016. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Preston L. Morris)
