11 April 2010, 20:34
KathiU.S. Marine saves couple after hippo attack
Marine helps save couple after hippo attack
http://www.marinecorpstimes.comCorporal: 'Any Marine would have done the same thing'
By James K. Sanborn - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Apr 10, 2010 9:03:00 EDT
Hippopotamus attacks aren't covered during standard Marine training, but
that didn't stop one corporal from rushing to the aid of a married couple
while on safari in Zimbabwe after their inflatable canoe was flipped and the
husband mauled.
Cpl. Justin Trinidad, 24, a Marine security guard at the U.S. embassy in
Zimbabwe, was with his girlfriend, Kaylynn Hankey, when the hippo attacked
their tour group on the Zambezi River in mid-March. About 30 minutes into
the trip, the group - which included four canoes - asked for a break. As
they headed for shore, tour guides spotted the hippo and yelled for the
canoes to move away, but Javier and Patricia Franco didn't hear the warning.
"I look back and all I see is Mr. and Mrs. Franco thrown up in the air a few
meters," Trinidad told Marine Corps Times in a telephone interview from
Africa.
Patricia Franco was thrown clear of the hippo, but her husband came down
almost on top of it. That's when the animal chomped down on his leg, nearly
severing his foot, Trinidad said.
"She was screaming 'Help us; he has no leg,' " he said.
Despite his girlfriend's initial reluctance, Trinidad started to paddle
toward the couple.
"All I could think of was just, 'God watch over us, help us.' . We were
expecting any time for the hippo to come under us and just launch us into
the air," he said.
Eventually, they reached the distraught couple, who clung to the canoe as
Trinidad began rowing for land. However, a swift current threatened to carry
them downstream into rapids.
Hankey tried to stop them by grabbing a tree branch, but she was pulled from
the canoe. Fortunately, with the help of a guide, she made it safely to
shore.
Trinidad continued to fight the current and found a shallow spot where
Patricia Franco was able wade to shore, but her husband was unable to stand
and the canoe again spun out of control. It finally snagged on a rock, and
Trinidad was able to pull Javier Franco into the craft and get him to shore.
"That's when I realized his foot was hanging by a piece of skin. He started
bleeding a lot and I could see bone. It was pretty gruesome," he said.
Using a makeshift tourniquet, Trinidad stemmed the bleeding, but Franco was
screaming in pain.
"I was talking to him, trying to keep him from going into shock," he said.
". Then I remembered from the safety brief [the guides] said not to make
loud crying noises because wildlife might think you are wounded prey and
come over and eat you."
A family fishing nearby transported them by truck to a nearby hospital where
conditions were crude at best. Knowing that Franco's wounds required better
medical attention, Trinidad called the U.S. embassy and arranged for air
transport to Johannesburg, South Africa, more than 500 miles away.
"He is still undergoing many surgeries," Trinidad said. "Doctors weren't
able to save his foot, but his kids and wife are grateful that he is still
alive, because he could have bled to death. They said he is very positive,
and that he is going to get an artificial limb."
Trinidad, whose father died when he was young, said he was happy to save
somebody's mom and dad.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," he said. "I'm no hero.
Any Marine would have done the same thing."
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Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#926103994110 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson
Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......
"If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you."
MikeLegistine actu quod scripsi?
Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.
What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
