South Jersey Marine Saves Japanese Teen In Snowboarding Accident

NAGANO, JAPAN — When a U.S. Marine and Galloway native was enjoying a relaxing day off hitting the slopes with two of his fellow sergeants, he had no idea the three would end up rescuing a local in need.

Sergeants Tyler Rallo (Galloway), Ryan Cartwright and Scott Dike were skiing and snowboarding in Nagano back in February after consecutive military training exercises in Japan, according to a news release from the 3rd Marine Division.

At the same time, Reichi Sekiguchi, a teen from Kyoto Prefecture, was also enjoying the slopes with his family and friends when he experienced a sudden accident and got a severe cut on the top of his head.

Reichi's father, Toshiya Sekiguchi, said “This happened when they were taking the second lift going to the 'expert level' courses … he fell backwards and somehow sliced the top of his head on the edge of the snowboard.”

“I was about 100 to 150 meters away, and I saw what looked to be a child or a kid get in a crash,” said Dike, who was the first to notice the scene as it unfolded.

Reichi said he initially felt no pain and thought he could get back to the lodge, but began panicking quickly after seeing a substantial amount of blood dripping from the cut, down his face and onto the snow.

The three Marines approached the accident, beginning to assess for injuries and trying to communicate with Reichi.

“I'm using kind of hand and arm signals, and I think he said he was okay. But then, we saw the blood splatter, and we started to realize he was actually pretty seriously injured, especially being how young he was,” Cartwright said.

Using the basic life-saving skills they learned in their Marine training, Rallo and Cartwright treated his injury with the first aid kit they brought, as Dike went down the slope to coordinate with the ski patrol for additional follow-up care.

“As a Marine, we're constantly training to be there for the Marines to the left and right of us. I think it was within all of us – a natural instinct – that we should help this kid,” said Rallo.

“I was extremely worried about him, but I was told he was conscious, calm, and that foreigners,” the three U.S. Marines, “were treating him at the site,” said Reichi's father, Toshiya. “I was super relieved to hear that. I met them at the base camp facility, and I only could say thank you. It made me tear up by thinking of them saving my son.”

Cartwright and Rallo stayed with Reichi all the way from the rescue team arriving and transporting him back to the base lodge. “If they weren’t there to help Reichi, he would have been bleeding out during the transportation to the bottom camp by snowmobile, then driving to the local clinic. I think it was very fortunate that they were there to help,” said Toshiya.

Reichi received stitches at the local hospital and has since recovered without any complications.

“Often when medical emergencies happen, you have minutes to provide vital treatment. Preparing yourself ahead of time mentally, physically, and emotionally pays off greatly when you need to take action,” said Cartwright.

Toshiya said he struggled to find the words in English to properly thank the Marines, so he invited them to Kyoto for dinner.

Several weeks later, the Sekiguchi family, with Reichi now fully recovered, were joined by Cartwright, Rallo, and several fellow Marines for an enjoyable night sharing food and stories.

“We were just there to help, but it meant a lot knowing that we can build a relationship with this family who we briefly met even though we're from two different parts of the world, with different lives, but still came together.”