An Army soldier at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, says he’s grateful to be alive thanks to some fellow soldiers who came to his aid on the side of a road while he was having a medical emergency.
U.S. Army Captain Tony Smith says he almost died.
“So on June 14, 2024, I had a near-heart attack and suffered a blood clot on base. And there’s two MP’s who showed up and essentially saved my life.”
The emergency would have been fatal if not for those anonymous military police officers who stopped to see what was wrong. Capt. Smith was rushed to the nearest hospital and survived. Some 19 months later, Smith turned to TikTok to find the MP’s who saved him.
“If you’re at Fort Hood, I hope this reaches you, and I hope that I can find these soldiers and recognize them and shake their hand,” Capt. Smith said on TikTok nearly two years after his emergency. He says he retraced his steps and searched for weeks after his recovery to find those Good Samaritan military police officers who helped him survive.
“I’ve been for the past year trying to locate these soldiers, locate the unit they were in, and essentially thank them,” he said in the post, asking for anyone who might be scrolling to help. “So if you’re in Fort Hood, you’re an MP, I hope this finds you, I hope this finds any kind of commander or first sergeant. I’m trying to get in contact with these soldiers that intervened and did what they had to do to save my life.”
Turns out, the TikTok post worked. After an overwhelming response from fellow MPs, military base personnel and the military family pages, Captain Smith was able to find his savior-soldiers to thank them for saving his life. One of the officers responded to Smith’s TikTok page directly.
“The TikTok just reached me sir. I’m glad to see you doing a lot better,” read the TikTok response with an abbreviated name posted to Captain Smith’s account. “Keep moving forward, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors. I’m no longer an MP or in the army for that matter, but I do remember this call.”
Captain Smith says it was the response he had been waiting to read.
“I would not be here today if it weren’t for these soldiers, and their professionalism to essentially hold it down the scene to make sure everything was ok,” Captain Smith said.
The reunion was right on time. Captain Smith had already decided to leave his service in the Army within weeks of reuniting with the anonymous MP officers.
His TikTok post at the time showed the urgency.
“I’m just putting it out there, it’s been a while since I’ve been under a lot of stress, a lot of medication, a lot of recovery but I just want to, before I get out of the army, I want to make sure these soldiers are recognized for their hard work in what they do and what they did for me.”
Captain Smith’s TikTok post also caught the attention of higher-ups at Fort Hood. Major Brian Harris with Fort Hood community and media relations called Capt. Smith’s story remarkable.
“We helped facilitate the reunion,” said Major Harris. “These soldiers were able to see that he needed to be in the emergency room fast, and now that they’ve been reunited after all this time and so much effort, it’s rewarding to see it.”
Smith has since ended his military service after seven years, but he met his deadline to reunite with the soldiers who saved him before his time at Fort Hood came to an end.
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