(FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Sept. 12, 2025) Of course she couldn’t know it at the time, but an appointment that sent Maj. Avalon Dillon home during the day on July 11 ended up changing the course of several peoples’ lives in addition to her own.
While returning to Fort Leavenworth from her home in Tonganoxie, Kan., Dillon was the first on the scene of a two-car collision near the intersection of Tonganoxie Drive and Stranger Road. One of the drivers in an SUV had exited his vehicle and appeared to be unhurt, but two others in a minivan seemed to be in greater trouble. The airbags had deployed, the horn was blowing, and the vehicle was smoking.
Dillon, a career Military Police Corps officer and doctrine author at the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, alerted authorities to the accident. “I slam on the brakes, as soon as I get up close enough to the first vehicle, I call 911 and let them know: two vehicle accident and gave a general description.”
The 911 operator wanted more detailed information and Dillon explained she had not had time to determine the severity of the accident. After hanging up, her training kicked in and she began to assess the situation more fully.
While she was on the phone, another motorist had stopped and was talking to the elderly male driver of the minivan. The man was in and out of consciousness, but they needed him to shut off the vehicle to prevent fire from catching. Once the engine was off and the immediate danger minimized, Dillon turned her attention to the elderly and injured female passenger of the vehicle, however, reaching her was no easy feat.
“I had to get underneath the airbags and through to see the woman that was there,” Dillon said. The injuries were severe based on what she could see. “… I was fairly certain based on her body position, how she was, that she had some closed fractures going on.” This, along with blood coming from an unknown injury and some of the woman’s visible preexisting health issues, made Dillon sure that moving the woman was not advisable.
“So, I woke her up, got her conscious and was talking to her. She was kind of going in and out of shock because she would say, ‘I’m really cold, I’m really cold,’ and then she would start to fall asleep. And so, I was just talking to her, trying to wake her up.”
When first responders arrived, they extracted the male driver through the back seat of the van. When they discussed moving the woman, Dillon told them “Absolutely not. This is an older lady, we’re not going to touch her until the ambulance arrives.” Her astute evaluation of the severity of the woman’s injuries and her ability to calmly provide this information to the firefighters got their concurrence to wait for medical personnel to arrive on scene.
The job then became keeping the woman conscious and as comfortable as possible. “I kept her awake, kept her stable,” she said. “I could tell she had broken both her wrists just based on the strength that she had, so I kind of crossed her arms to relieve the pressure from her upper body. And just kept her alert, kept her awake.”That included talking to the woman about her family (her husband was the driver of the vehicle), her children and grandchildren, church, really anything to keep her engaged and calm.
When further help did arrive, Dillon again recommended against a direct extraction based on the woman’s injuries. The first responders adjusted their plan based on her advice. By taking out the beam between the passenger side door and the rear door, they could more easily move the woman directly onto a back board. From there, she was taken to the hospital. Medic personnel on the scene told Dillon they expected the woman to recover.
When she returned to her office at the Operational Level Doctrine Division of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, Dillon explained what had happened, but assured her colleagues it was not a big deal. They disagreed.
Her supervisor, Lt. Col. Christian Cook, said her downplaying the incident did not surprise him as Dillon is an exceptional, yet humble, officer.
“Most people would not have slowed down and assumed that this was someone else’s problem,” he said. “Avalon not only stopped to check on the victims of an accident, but she also chose to involve herself by rendering aid until EMS arrived. I am proud to be on a team with her and happy that she is a member of the greater Leavenworth community.”
On-scene firefighter Jacob E. Thomas also saw Dillon’s efforts as noteworthy. In a written statement provided to the Leavenworth Sheriff’s office, he said, “Ms. Dillon’s quick actions, kind heart, and confident attitude significantly contributed to the patient being loaded into the ambulance safely where she could be transported to KU Med. …She is alive in no small part due to Ms. Dillon’s actions. Our community is fortunate and lucky to have people as selfless as Ms. Dillon who are willing to go out of their way to help others.”
On reflection, Dillon attributes her training as an MP with some of her skill on scene; however, she also noted that growing up in rural Colorado, she and her brother were taught to always help others, especially in their time of need. Those experiences also prepared her for this day. “We were expected to jump in and help and take care of people,” she said.
On Sept. 12, the Mission Command Center of Excellence team gathered to recognize Dillon’s actions on that July day. MCCoE Director Brig. Gen. Antwan Dunmyer, Sr., presented her with an impact Army Commendation Medal after hearing remarks on the heroism she displayed at the scene of the accident.
Noting that this presentation comes a day after 9/11, Dunmyer expressed his admiration for Dillon’s actions and for those who selflessly went into harm’s way 24 years ago. “When you look at not just the incident and not just what the enemy did to us, but all the people like you who stepped up and didn’t have to – to go to the rescue of a whole bunch of people. That’s the character of Americans. That is the character of Soldiers that serve in our Army. That’s the character of leaders that are in our society that we want in our Army,” he said.
For her part, Dillon is unsurprisingly matter of fact in describing her takeaway from the experience. “Just be there and take care of people,” she said.
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