Michael Mathews (GHS ’09) has been honorably serving his country for the past ten years in the United States Army as an infantryman. The backbone of the Army, the infantry are the main land combat force and are responsible for defending our country against any threat by land, as well as capturing, deploying and repelling enemy ground forces.
Joining two weeks after his high school graduation, Mathews has been deployed to Afghanistan, supporting local national forces against Isis, on three separate occasions and spent one tour of duty in Iraq. Over the past ten years, Mathews has been stationed at Fort Benning, Fort Hood, Fort Polk, Germany, and Italy.
Currently, Army Staff Sgt. Mathews is assisting Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) in Texas as a member of the 3rd Squadron, 89th Calvary Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
Photo courtesy of U.S. Northern CommandMichael Mathews, right, helped save a Guatemalan woman and child on June 20.
On June 20, Staff Sgt. Mathews and 1st Lt. Samuel Mueller were assisting CBP on the US-Mexico border near El Paso when they observed a Guatemalan woman and her child jump into the canal, attempting to cross the border into the United States. The canal is used for agriculture irrigation and is an off-shoot of the Rio Grande River.
The canal’s strong currents pulled the woman and child under. Quick thinking led Mathews to jump into the water and Mueller to use his shirt as a lifeline to pull the drowning family to safety.
Lt. Col. Will Canda, commander 3rd Squadron, 89th Calvary Regiment, praised Mathews and Mueller, “though we have specific instructions to ensure CDP forces are in the lead to interact with immigrants crossing the border, I made it clear to my soldiers that they are authorized in every case to help when they felt human life is at stake.”
For Mathews, “I’m glad the woman and her child are okay. I think it was a great victory for the joint U.S. Army-CBP team.” Echoing Mathews, Mueller praised the heroic action, “my team leader reacted decisively and without hesitation. Mathews jumped into the canal in full uniform and boots to help a woman and child in need.”
Staff Sgt. Mathews will be retiring from active duty in May. He plans to join the National Guard and looking for a job in logistics. He misses Maine and hopes to return to the ocean, woods, his family, and friends.