Air Force soldier rescues 79-year-old injured woman during hiking accident

ASHFORD, Wash. (Gray News) – A retired Air Force soldier rescued a 79-year-old woman who broke her ankle while walking to bury her mother’s ashes.

Ursula Bannister takes an annual hike to High Rock Lookout.

“I know the route very well and there are always a lot of people,” Bannister told the U.S. Army. “When I couldn’t find anyone to go with me on this trip, I just went by myself.”

While descending the steep mountain path, she stepped into a shallow hole and broke her ankle.

A group of hikers stopped two young men to help Bannister.

“My first thought was, if I could carry her down, I would carry her down and get her down there as fast as I could,” said Airman 1st Class Troy May, a heavy aircraft integrated avionics specialist with the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

May pulled Bannister onto his back and carried her down the trail, doing his best to make the descent as smooth and level as possible.

“She was definitely in a lot of pain,” May told the U.S. military. “I told her she just had to take a few more steps and we would get her there.”

The Army reported that May’s friend Layton Allen also helped carry Bannister for a time.

The couple took Bannister to the hospital for surgery and waited there for her son.

“I considered them my angels,” Bannister said.

May received a medal for his selfless rescue effort.

“One of the core values ​​of the Air Force is service above self, and Airman 1st Class May clearly demonstrated that core value through his actions,” said Lt. Col. Joshua Clifford, 62nd AMXS commander.

“While our team of Air Force Soldiers performs amazing feats every day, we relish the opportunity to recognize the courage of one Air Force Soldier and recognize him or her for truly living the Air Force’s core values.”

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