Not all heroes wear capes, some wear uniforms

 Most  elderly people prefer spending the remainder of their lives alone in their homes, leading a peaceful life. The lady in this story however, was denied that right, as her peaceful and steady life took a big twist that changed her world.

 Ethel Mills, a 60-year-old resident of Lynwood, California, was living the ideal life. At this age, she molded her life such that she could plan every day beforehand. Be it an afternoon lunch out with friends or a weekend night with her grandkids, she had it all mentioned on a magnetic board on her fridge. 

Ethel lived a pretty ordinary life. Her old days were going exactly as she wanted them to be. That Thursday morning, she was supposed to do some grocery shopping, as she was organizing a small dinner for her school friends. 

In addition to her errands, she had a doctor appointment, she had a serious eye issue that has become a concern, it wasn’t just deteriorating eyesight and she needed professional help. 

 

The parking lot was fully packed, which was very unusual for a weekday. Ethel finally found a parking spot after spending almost half an hour looking around for a place to park her car. She wouldn’t have found it if it weren’t for a man who suggested to her the place in the corner. Ethel thanked him and headed towards the mall entrance. Little did she know her helper was up to something.

Unsurprisingly, the mall was overcrowded too, Ethel wanted to finish her shopping quickly so that she would get to her appointment in time. Besides, she had a dinner to prepare and couldn’t afford to waste any time.

She managed to make her way through the crowd to the backside of the mall where the eye clinic was. 

Ethel didn’t notice the young men who were keeping an eye on her from the moment she entered the mall. Unaware of the danger Ethel was getting into, she noticed the clinic logo in front of her and entered. The men waited outside at some distance for her return. 

As Ethel walked out of the eye clinic, she was lost in her own thoughts worrying about what might be wrong with her eyes. She kept thinking about what her life would turn out to be if she was to lose her eyesight. Not even in her worst thoughts, did she  imagine that there was a group of men keeping an eye on her every move.

Elderly people are the first victim of criminals due to their vulnerability and the fact that they’re most of the time alone.

 The two thugs who were going to conduct the thievery were suspecting her to be an easy target. And knowing how far her car was parked they knew that there were very low chances  that anyone would notice.

Ethel took the back door exit as it was the closest to the parking lot. She was tired and any shortcut was welcome. The corner where she parked was still empty..

Ethel walked straight to her car and sat inside without noticing the two men staring at her. She was about to put the seat belt on when the men forced the door open, she was most shocked to notice that one of them was the man who first showed her the parking spot.

The burglars were armed, one of them had a sharp knife while another one was carrying a revolver under his T-shirt. Ethel was in no position of fighting, how could she face two armed men?

One of them snatched her handbag and pushed her back in the car. Her handbag had her whole life inside,  her IDs, benefit and credit cards, her money and even her grandkids notes. She couldn’t afford to lose her bag. 

 

Ethel was a retired police officer, she was well aware of the seriousness of the situation and knew it was suggested to not fight back in these scenarios. However, she didn’t take her own advice that evening. 

The only weak point of these people was that they underestimated her strength, they thought she was just another weak old woman. Ethel gathered all her strength and hit the man on his nose, she grabbed  her fist and hit the other one with it. She pushed them all out and shut her door. The thugs, however, were not going to give up so easily. They warned her to not move the car and kept banging on the window with their hands.

She put the car into reverse gear and tried to get out of the parking area. But that didn’t work either as one of her car’s tires was punctured.  She drove the car anyway but the men surrounded her from all directions. One man stood in front of the car while another was trying to open her back door.

    Ethel slammed her hand on the horn in the hopes of getting help, even if it was a long shot as the parking lot was empty. 

Two massive figures entered the parking area, soon followed by a car rushing in the direction of the burglars. 

The car that came in had two men in uniforms, the thieves’ plan failed and they only had one option left: to run, and fast. 

Sgt. Ricardo Schebesta, Staff Sgt. Bryson Twigg, and Sgt. Ben Shoemaker heard the loud honking of Ethel’s car from the Armed Forces Career Center whbehind the parking area. They ran behind the thugs on the main roads.

Ethel already warned the Marines that these thugs were armed but the warning didn’t stop the marines from chasing them. “No, that kid was never going to outrun me,” one of the officers said later. “Marines run towards the sound of chaos,” They knew that they were going only to cause more harm to other civilians. The marines chased after them and thanks to their training and instincits, they were able to catch them all.

 

 

 

The press titled the officers as heroes. Their commanding officer, Maj. Sung Kim said their heroic men’s actions were “reflective of the courage and commitment they embody.”

“What are you supposed to do? That’s what we’re trained to do. I can’t sit here and let it happen,” claimed the officer. However, their commanding officer gave them enough credit: “[They] set a great example for their fellow Marines, and especially for the young poolees who are studying to learn what it means to be a Marine. Their response reminds all Marines that we have a responsibility to always do the right thing, regardless of whether or not anyone is watching.

“It’s what we do. From the beginning, what we’re taught in boot camp, it’s a part of us,” the officer said in an interview. Their partner agreed and said, “It’s really what I’m trained to do, be it recruiting, be it that; my job is to protect the United States public.” We just hope that people like these officers show up  on crime scenes to save innocent people like Ethel and be their real-life heroes.