Gerald J. Sarno SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Gerald J. Sarno remembers July 4, 2012, as clear as day.
That is the day he saved an 11-monthold boy who had stopped breathing.
Sarno, 23, a senior airman with the 100th Security Forces Squadron, stationed at the Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall in England at the time, was working entry control policing at the base’s annual July Fourth celebration, which allows for civilians and their families to attend.
“It was around 3 p.m., and I remember it was really hot,” he recalled of that day. “A woman came up yelling that her friend’s baby was dying.”
Sarno said he and a fellow airman ran to where the woman and her baby were.
“She had him upside down, smacking his back,” he recalled, shaking his head. “I remember taking the baby, who was really small. His face was completely blue and his eyes were rolled back. I opened his shirt and started CPR.”
Gerald J. Sarno of South Brunswick recently returned home after serving as a senior airman with the 100th Security Forces Squadron in England. However, Sarno said he immediately noticed something was wrong.
“His chest was not expanding,” he said. “I checked his airway and nothing was blocking it. … I had to think of what to do next.”
Sarno said he realized the baby’s lungs were collapsed and lifted the baby’s back and then started CPR again. This time, he saw the baby’s chest expand.
The next thing, Sarno said the baby’s color came back, and he handed the baby back to his mother and went right back to his post.
“The medics told me that I had gone into mental shock, not comprehending what had just happened,” he said.
Sarno said the incident was the first time he physically used his training on an individual.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jerry Sarno (r) received an Air Force Commendation Medal from U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Allen Jamerson in September 2012 for saving a baby’s life that July. “In training, we train to conduct CPR on adults, middle-sized children and infants,” he said. “It’s all muscle memory, and that is what the same training over and over again is for. … There is a reason for it.”
Sarno said the situation was surreal and as he jumped into action, he said everything went silent around him — all he saw was the baby, and all he focused on was the baby’s breathing.
“It was insane how that happens,” he said.
On Sept. 21, 2012, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Allen Jamerson, director of Security Forces, presented Sarno with an Air Force Commendation Medal for his heroic actions that day.
“I did not know I was going to receive the award until they called me up on stage,” he said. “It was chilling getting the award with everybody cheering. … That was a good day.”
Sarno, a graduate of Cardinal McCarrick High School in South Amboy, was just 19 when he made the decision to go into the military and met with a recruiter. “I wanted to become a police officer, so I weighed my options and decided to enter the military to become a security police officer,” he said.
Sarno entered basic training on Aug. 10, 2009 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
In 2010, Sarno received his first yearlong deployment to Kunsan Air Base in South Korea.
“I grew up here in Central New Jersey, and to send me all the way to the south end of Korea was definitely a culture shock,” he said.
And on top of that, there was a nuclear threat from North Korea during the time he was stationed there.
“It was continued training to be ready for an attack,” he said, adding that the work days spanned 15 to 20 hours.
His second deployment was to Mildenhall, where he stayed for the rest of his time in the military. During that time, he was assigned to temporary jobs, including working with the Secret Service when President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and then- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did their Europe tour in 2011.
Another temporary job was a threemonth stint in Turkey in 2011 to help escort the secretary of the U.S. Air Force. This was at the time when longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed.
“That was another culture shock,” he said. “I was chosen to go alone and join another team that was already there.”
Sarno came home on July 23 and officially finished his four-year contract with the U.S. Air Force on Aug. 10.
He said it’s good to be home; however, the transition has been hard, especially grasping the fact that he will not get on a plane in 30 days.
“That was the lifestyle that I had become accustomed to. … It almost is like I forgot how to be a regular civilian,” he said. “Those four years went fast, although while serving it was slow. They have a saying in the military that the days are long, but the weeks are short. They keep you very busy.”
Sarno said that during the past four years, he has met many great people and has had great experiences.
“It was fun,” he said with a smile.
Day by day, Sarno said he will start the second chapter of his life by utilizing his GI benefits to finish his criminal justice degree and eventually take the civil service test to become a police officer.
“I started my criminal justice degree while in the service where we were able to receive credits from the University of Maryland,” he said.
Sarno’s mom, Sharon, said she was at a loss of words when talking about her son.
“I’m just proud of him,” she said, adding that she was not completely on board with him going into the military at first.
However, she said she realized that the military was a great experience for her son.
“He excelled. … It is where he grew up and matured,” she said. “He went in as a kid and came out a man.”
Sharon noted that her son has received many commendations. Sarno was nominated for the 2013 United States Air Force Vanguard Award, which annually recognizes one enlisted member from each of the uniformed services for acts of heroism which result in the saving of a life or the prevention of a serious injury.
Sarno also received an Air Force Achievement Medal for providing flawless security for 3,700 personnel and 45 aircraft and installation resources valued at $2.75 billion during his time at Kunsan.
Sharon said her eldest son is returning home at the time that her two youngest children — Lindsey, 21, and Michael, 18 — are leaving for Penn State University in the fall.
“I’m glad to have him back, and I look forward to what his next journey will be,” she said. Contact Kathy Chang at [email protected].