--- title: "This airman was just trying to enjoy his honeymoon. He wound up saving a man’s life" description: "Air Force Staff Sgt. Harris Belmonte and his spouse Betty were honeymooning Hawaii on Nov. 3 when they heard screams for help." date: "2022-12-30" modified: "2022-12-30" authors: - name: "David Roza" job_title: "YouTube Writer/Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/david-roza/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-medicine-life-saving/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Around the World" - "Military Branches" - "News" - "United States" --- # This airman was just trying to enjoy his honeymoon. He wound up saving a man’s life ![air force airman]() *U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Harris Belmonte, 60th Inpatient Operations Squadron critical care shift lead, poses for photo at David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, California, Dec. 15, 2022. Belmonte and his wife vacationed to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he assisted in saving an individual’s life at Halona Beach, Nov. 3, 2022. (Senior Airman Alexander Merchak/U.S. Air Force)* Air Force Staff Sgt. Harris Belmonte and his spouse Betty were on their way to take photos of Halona Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii on Nov. 3 when they heard screams for help. The Hawaii trip was supposed to be the couple’s honeymoon, but when you’re a medical provider like Belmonte, work has a way of catching up to you. “I rushed over immediately and saw an individual lying down appearing to be unconscious,” said Belmonte, a critical care shift lead for the 60th Inpatient Operations Squadron, [in a recent press release]() by the public affairs office at [Travis Air Force Base](), California, where Belmonte is based. The airman saw eight people gathered around the unconscious man, who had been taken out of the water. They were attempting CPR, but they were using an improper technique. “I felt at that moment that it was my responsibility to take charge of compressions and have someone else focus on giving breaths,” said Belmonte, who explained that he and his fellow critical care technicians often practice this kind of situation at the hospital. “Training kicked in.” ![air force special tactics airman]() *U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Harris Belmonte, 60th Inpatient Operations Squadron critical care shift lead, left, and his spouse, Betty Belmonte, pose for a photo at Halona Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, Nov. 3, 2022. Belmonte and his wife vacationed to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he assisted in saving an individual’s life at Halona Beach, Nov. 3, 2022. (Courtesy Photo)* After rendering two cycles of CPR, Belmonte detected the patient had a weak pulse and was breathing. Belmonte, along with the others who’d responded to the calls for help, put the man in the[ recovery position](), where the patient lies on their side, and tried to talk with him while rubbing his back, but he was still unresponsive. Belmonte noticed that the man was showing signs of agonal breathing, “a near-death condition where a person gasps and moans,”[ according]() to the Cleveland Clinic. It is the result of a reflex of a person who is not getting enough oxygen and is gasping for air, the press release explained. To make matters worse, one of the other people assisting with medical care shouted that they could not get the man’s pulse. “At this time everything got silent and my only focus was on the patient,” Belmonte said. “I wasn’t going to lose this man’s pulse.” [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.** The airman rendered another cycle of CPR before paramedics finally arrived and took over patient care. They maintained the man’s pulse and took him away for further treatment. Though the press release did not say what was ailing the man or whether he recovered, Belmonte certainly gave him a fighting chance. “Looking back, it really did feel like we were at the right place at the right time,” the airman said. ![air force special tactics]() *125th Special Tactics Squadron airmen work alongside paramedics to prepare two patients for transport near Boise, Ida. on May 15, 2022. After completing a day of small arms training, these Oregon Air National Guard Airmen were in a convoy heading to Gowen Field, Ida. when an accident unfolded in front of them. (U.S. Air Force)* Active duty service members account for[ less than one half]() of 1% of the total U.S. population, but many of them end up in life-saving situations like Belmonte did. This year alone, service members saved eight people from a[ circling bull shark](), pulled a man from a[ burning truck](), saved two[ critically-injured]() motorcycle accident survivors, fought off[ a grizzly bear](), thwarted a[ jewelry store robbery](), helped[ stop a nightclub shooter](), and pulled a couple from[ a burning building](). It seems that service members find themselves in the right place and the right time with regularity. It helps that service members often have the will and the training to help others in need, two traits Belmonte has in spades. “Our son always tells my husband that he is his superhero,” said Betty. “That day, he showed his superpowers!” ## The latest on Task & Purpose - [**All alone, together**]()**: The emotional essence of Christmas at war** - **‘We make it fun’ —**[ **Inside an Air Force Christmas at 30,000 feet**]() **over war-torn Iraq** - [**Christmas in, Christmas out**]()**: A holiday deployment story** - **The complicated truth about the famous** [**‘Christmas Truce’ of World War I**]() - [**What it’s like to spend Christmas in combat**]()**, according to US military veterans** **Want to write for Task & Purpose?**[ **Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on**[ **our homepage.**]() ## Author David Roza writes scripts about military news for the Task & Purpose YouTube channel, and he also writes articles about military pay, benefits, health care, child care, culture, and other personnel topics on a freelance basis. Roza previously covered the Air Force and Space Force for Task & Purpose from 2019 to 2023 and for Air & Space Forces Magazine from 2023 to 2025. In the course of that reporting, he has set off a ‘Hollywood explosion’ with Air Force bomb techs, turned the (unarmed) keys of a nuclear missile bunker, hovered over the Nevada desert on an Air Force rescue helicopter, and got the best sleep of his life on the floor of a C-17 over the central Pacific. Share tips and story ideas with David at [david.roza@teamrecurrent.io]()