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FORT POLK, La. — Everyone deserves a little rest and relaxation, especially Soldiers. Getting away can refresh mind, body and soul and refocus them on the mission. That’s what Sgt. Nelson Mercado, 286th Medical Detachment, 32nd Hospital Center, Army practical nursing specialist, and Sgt. Farrell Noel, 115th Field Hospital operating room specialist, were doing when they decided to take a trip to New Orleans on the last weekend of July.
What they didn’t know is that their peaceful trip was going to be a lot more chaotic and dangerous than they could ever have imagined.
Noel said he and Mercado were enjoying the ambiance of New Orleans while sitting outside a pub on Bourbon Street, when gun shots erupted between 2 to 3 a.m. Aug. 1.
Mercado said the two shooters were having an argument that quickly escalated.
“They each pulled out a gun and began shooting at each other, even though there were massive amounts of pedestrians, even children, out and about enjoying themselves,” said Mercado.
Noel said he grabbed Mercado and they ran inside the pub with the rest of the crowd trying to get to safety.
“When we turned around, we saw the shooters through the pub windows. One was down the street shooting in our direction and the other was right in front of us — he shot first. The second shooter returned fire as he continued to back away from the other gunman. As we watched through the window, we saw the flashes of gunfire. There were multiple rounds fired as they emptied their clips into the crowd,” he said.
As the shooting ended, Mercado said he didn’t know where the second shooter went, but he saw the shooter closest to them turn the corner and run.
That’s when Noel and Mercado carefully stepped outside the door to make sure the shooters had vacated the area and saw two casualties in the middle of the street. Their medical training kicked in and they headed straight for the casualty that was closest to them.
Though they said they were cautious because they thought the shooters might come back, it didn’t stop them from leaving the safety of the pub to aid the victims of the confrontation.
Sam Madson was one of the shooting victims. He and his wife, Lita, were visiting friends in New Orleans when the gunfire erupted.
Madson was on the ground hemorrhaging from two gun shot wounds — one to each of his shins.
Noel said as he approached Madson to talk to him, Mercado did a visual sweep to see where Madson had been shot.
“In tactical combat casualty care, one of the first things you do is check the scene and assess the patient. He said he had two bullet wounds. Mercado was already working on the left leg, so I ran around to begin to apply pressure to the right leg,” said Noel.
Mercado said they didn’t have any tools or medical equipment to work with, so they had to use what was available.
“I took my belt off and applied it two inches above the gun shot wound and tied it. The Army trains us how to handle wounds like this when we are out in the field,” he said.
As Noel was applying pressure to the right leg, a friend of the Madsons approached and Mercado instructed him how to use his belt on the other leg. Noel said he continued to apply pressure until the friend was done.
“If you remove pressure before that, they could bleed out and there was already a lot of blood loss,” said Noel.
Mercado said once Madson was stabilized, they stayed with him and monitored him after they were assured the other casualties were receiving care as well.
Noel and Mercado assured Lita her husband had stopped bleeding.
“We were trying to keep them both calm until emergency medical services arrived on the scene. We tried to keep them distracted and ease their minds until the ambulance arrived,” said Noel.
After about five minutes, EMS arrived and Mercado explained Madson’s wounds and what they had done.
“In that situation it felt like forever, but it was only minutes before they arrived and they took it from there,” said Noel.
After informing their leadership what had happened, Noel and Mercado got some sleep and headed back to Fort Polk the next day.
Mercado said it wasn’t quite the relaxing trip they had planned, but said he and Noel were glad they were there at the right time and place and had the skills necessary to help.
“I think anyone with our training would have done the same thing,” said Noel.
That doesn’t mean it didn’t have an effect on them. Noel said Mercado returned from a deployment last year and though you expect that kind of thing to happen during a deployment, it’s not something you think about happening at home, he said.
“You are mentally prepared for mortars, indirect gunfire and more,” said Noel. “You don’t expect it on a weekend trip for fun here.”
Noel and Mercado said it was even more stressful because of the unexpected nature of the event and the fact that they had to scramble to use what they could find to try to help save a person’s life.
“I think it hits home more because it caught us off guard,” said Mercado.
Now that some time has passed, Mercado and Noel look back on the weekend and are thankful.
“We were lucky we didn’t get hurt and are happy we were there to help Sam and Lita,” said Noel.
Noel said they were there to render aid when it was needed and that’s what the Army stands for — especially in the medical field.
“We have the training and it kicked in automatically. It wasn’t something we had to think about,” said Noel. “The Army does an excellent job training us to do what we do.”
Mercado said before they left the scene of the shooting, Lita made sure to get their phone numbers. She has kept in touch to let them know how Sam is doing. “It was a horrible situation, but the positives include keeping in touch with Sam and Lita. He is doing well and I feel like we have made friends that we will keep for the rest of our lives,” he said.
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