Portsmouth medic, state trooper get Va. honors

A Portsmouth tactical team medic and a Virginia State Police trooper who rescued a child on the Eastern Shore were honored Wednesday by the governor with a Meritorious Service Medal and a Medal of Valor.

Jeffrey Gerald Yates, a tactical team medic with the Portsmouth Police Department; Virginia State Police Trooper Kurt T. Johnson; and Doug Townshend, a firefighter with the Alexandria Fire Department who rescued his brother from a fire, were presented Virginia’s highest honors for heroism.

Yates was honored with a Meritorious Service Medal for treating two other Portsmouth officers while under fire during a stand-off on Feb. 27, 2009 in Churchland. While on the scene, the man barricaded inside fired on the officers, seriously wounding two.

As the officers were being fired upon, Yates retrieved the injured officers, using his body to shield them. He treated them during the gun battle and later moved them across a large unprotected yard to safety.

Yates was also a 2010 nominee for America's Most Wanted All-Star, an award for first responders.

Johnson was recognized with a Medal of Valor for his rescue of a 15-month-old child who was trapped in a burning, overturned vehicle on Feb. 6, 2009, on U.S. 13 in Accomack County. Johnson saw the vehicle fire in the distance. The driver had escaped with her two older children, but she was unable to retrieve her baby, who was the child under the dashboard of the overturned vehicle.

Johnson emptied two fire extinguishers before crawling into the car through thick smoke. Johnson said he stopped when he saw the girl’s eyes.

As Johnson moved the rescued child from the car, there was an explosion, the governor’s news release said.

The trooper was also the recipient of a Carnegie Medal, an award given by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission to people who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or trying to save others.

Townshend was leaving his home in Alexandria on March 13, 2009, when he saw flames coming from the kitchen window of his brother’s house next door. He tried to enter the house through the front door, but was unable because of the intense smoke. He entered through a bedroom window, crawled on the floor and called for his brother to follow his voice. He found his 6-foot-tall, 230-pound brother, grabbed him under his arms from behind and pulled him to the broken bedroom window, protecting him with his own body from the shattered glass.

Within minutes of pulling his brother to safety, the house was fully engulfed. Townshend received a Meritorious Service Medal.

“I cannot thank them enough for their service, sacrifice, hard work and dedication to protecting Virginia’s citizens,” Gov. Bob McDonnell was quoted as saying in the news release. “The three individuals recognized today truly went above and beyond the call of duty and I want to commend them for their selfless acts.”