It was May, and Cameron Papucci and three of his buddies were returning to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, located near Palm Springs, east of Los Angeles, California.
Papucci, a 2017 graduate of Switzerland County High School who joined the Marine Corps in October of that year, had been doing some shopping with his fellow soldiers when suddenly an emergency situation played out right in front of their vehicle.
“Me and my friends were headed back from shopping during the day,” Papucci recalled during a telephone interview as he is still stationed at Twentynine Palms. “There was a car wreck, so we stopped, because it happened right in front of us. We were the first ones there.”
Papucci said that the one vehicle accident involved another Marine and his wife. The car had overturned, so the four Marines knew that quick action was needed.
“The lady was stuck under the car,” Papucci said. “The guy driving was trapped, so my buddy grabbed a knife and cut his seatbelt so we could get him out. The lady was pinned under the car. Her arm was through the sunroof underneath the car.”
Papucci and his friends got their fellow Marine to safety, got him some water to drink, and put his injured arm in a sling. With the woman trapped under the vehicle, they worked to calm her until firefighters and other emergency personnel got to the scene.
For their quick action and bravery, there is talk that the four Marines might receive a citation, but Papucci said that he hasn’t heard anything about that, but being honored for his actions doesn’t matter to him, helping the couple was what was important.
Papucci grew up here in Switzerland County, the son of Jeremy Papucci of Bennington and Tabitha Watkins, is stationed at Twentynine Palms, where he is being trained in electronics maintenance. In that, he works on repairing computers and radios and other electronic devices that are critical to successful Marine operations. He’s been in training since February of this year. He said that because the training is long and intensive for this type of job, Twentynine Palms is considered his first station.
“I’ll be well into next year,” he said.
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Papucci said that joining the Marine Corps wasn’t always his goal, but a visit to a recruiter changed his mind.
“I went to the recruiter with one of my buddies who was going to enlist, and he talked a good game and I thought, ‘you know what? Maybe I’ll join.’ And that was that.”