A group of U.S. Marines rescued a wounded civilian stranded without food and water in the middle of the California desert, waving a green flag from a boulder below, last month

The crew spotted a stranded off-road motorcyclist and quickly realized a swift intervention was needed. They landed their helicopter 500 meters from the individual’s location.

Once landed, Kerr and Gunnery Sgt. Theodore Young, the lead crew chief, walked up the hillside toward the injured individual to assess the situation.

“He had been out there for almost two days, completely out of water and food,” said Young. “When we reached him, he was conscious but clearly exhausted and in pain. He told us he had been hoping someone would see him before it was too late.”

The man had broken his leg after flipping his motorcycle on an incline and as a result, he was unable to move himself to safety. 

 The Marines stabilized the man’s injuries, loaded him into their King Stallion and flew him to the MCAS Yuma, Arizona, where  the station’s Yuma Fire Department transported him to the Yuma Regional Medical Center. The man is expected to make a full recovery, according to the release.

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2025/03/21/marines-save-injured-motorcyclist-stranded-in-california-desert/