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Team McGuire Airman turned local hero

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Billy Wroble
  • 305th Maintenance Operations Squadron
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. --  Staff Sgt. Matthew Koppenhaver is an excellent KC-10 electro-environmental instructor assigned to the 305th Maintenance Operations Squadron. I have always applauded him for his professionalism and technical expertise. It was not until recently I understood the potential heroism he carried with him. 

It was about 11:30 a.m. on a Tuesday when Sergeant Koppenhaver asked me if I had any plans for lunch. As an avid brown-bagger, fate must have commanded me to witness the following as this day I had not prepared anything. He had 30 minutes before his students returned from the dining facility, so we decided to hit the drive through at a fast food place. 

Approximately halfway to our lunch time destination, Sergeant Koppenhaver noticed a person running frantically around in a parking lot. Upon closer observation, he noticed dark smoke coming from a nearby vehicle. As we entered the parking lot, we saw that the bed of a pick up truck was engulfed in flames. Sergeant Koppenhaver warned nearby spectators of the potential danger of explosion due to the close proximity of the vehicle fuel tank. 

After assuring the safety of all around, he ran to a local business and obtained a fire extinguisher. Although only absent for a matter of seconds, the fire seemed to have doubled in size when he returned with the fire extinguisher. Again, he warned other onlookers to stand clear as he extinguished the fire. 

After the fire was out, the vehicle saved, and potential injuries averted, Sergeant Koppenhaver simply returned to his vehicle to leave the scene ignoring the cheers from the small crowd that had gathered. 

You see, although many people looked at this as exceptional behavior, I know that he is our unit safety representative, an avid motorcycle safety instructor and has received safety awards at the wing level. I was not surprised to witness him perform like this. 

This goes to show that business as usual inside the fence equals acts of heroism outside the fence. As a very appreciative vehicle owner tried to compensate him for his valor, Sergeant Koppenhaver said something that I will never forget. He uttered without hesitation, "I make my living defending the country; I put out fires for fun."