Marines Rescue Man at U.S. Border

PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. James Brooks and U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Valeria Carmona pose after receiving Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals near Campo, California, Aug. 15, 2026. The two were recognized for their actions during the Aug. 7 rescue of a man suffering from severe heat illness near the southern border. (Dept. of War photo by Sgt. Nathan Hislop)

A routine military mission along the U.S.-Mexico border turned into a lifesaving rescue when Marines and a Navy corpsman treated and evacuated a man suffering from severe heat illness in the mountains near Campo, California.

The rescue occurred Aug. 7, but the military released its full account Sept. 10 through Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. According to Joint Task Force-Southern Border, temperatures in the area were above 100 degrees when Lance Cpl. James Brooks and Pfc. Savi Garciamartinez, both assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, received word from U.S. Border Patrol that someone was in distress near their observation post.

Brooks and Garciamartinez left their position and located the man. The military described him as a suspected illegal alien suffering from severe heat illness.

Brooks began cooling the man with ice packs while Garciamartinez, who speaks Spanish, translated between them. According to Brooks, the man said he had come from Tijuana, had been outside for three days, had run out of water and was experiencing chest pain.

As the situation worsened, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Valeria Carmona, a hospital corpsman with the battalion, responded to the scene. Carmona said she began preparing IV supplies after receiving word that the man had stopped sweating and was becoming unconscious.

The team placed the man in a SKED litter and carried him up the steep terrain of Tecate Peak toward a designated helicopter landing zone. Carmona walked alongside the litter while holding an IV bag above her head to maintain the flow of fluids during the climb.

A U.S. Border Patrol Black Hawk was waiting at the landing zone. Because of the severity of the man's condition, Border Patrol personnel asked Carmona to remain with him during the evacuation, and she continued providing treatment until he was transferred to civilian medical personnel.

Brooks and Carmona were later awarded Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals for their actions. Official military imagery from the Aug. 15 ceremony identifies the rescue as having saved the man's life.

1st Lt. Jordan Corpuz, the Marines' platoon commander, said the incident illustrated another side of the military's border mission.

“It’s not only about protecting our southern border, it’s also providing aid for human beings.”

The rescue also put the Marines and sailor in a situation far removed from the routine detection and monitoring duties they had been performing along the border.

For Brooks, the outcome came down to being in the right place and having the training to respond when the mission suddenly changed. For Carmona, the principle was even simpler: medical personnel treat the person in front of them regardless of the circumstances that brought them there.

Source: U.S. Marine Corps / Joint Task Force-Southern Border via DVIDS