ROTC hero saved man's life

Teen did chest compressions for 27 minutes

Thursday, March 8, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

In 1961, Clarence Laney marched with the U.S. Army Old Guard at President Kennedy's inauguration.

Forty-six years later, on Tuesday morning in the crowded gym at Bandys High School, Laney watched the Old Guard's drill team toss their rifles and bayonets at a ceremony honoring the teenager who saved his life.

On Feb. 9, William Butler, a 16-year-old Junior ROTC cadet lieutenant at Bandys, was working the scoreboard at a girl's varsity basketball game when Laney, 70, collapsed in the stands.

"I heard people yelling, `Stop the game. Call 911,' " Butler said.

Laney was having a heart attack.

Butler and Patty Goodwin, a nurse whose daughters attend Bandys, rushed to Laney and began rescue breathing and chest compressions, Butler said.

Laney didn't immediately respond to the CPR, so Butler, a trained volunteer with the Catawba Rescue Squad, grabbed the school's defibrillator paddles and shocked Laney twice before the ambulance arrived.

"He did chest compressions for 27 minutes," said Mike Colbert, senior Army instructor at Bandys. "That's incredible."

So incredible, Colbert said, that he couldn't imagine not honoring Butler for saving Laney's life.

Tuesday, Butler was honored with the Medal of Heroism from the U.S. Army Cadet Command. The medal, said Colbert, a retired lieutenant colonel, is one of the Junior ROTC's most prestigious, and is awarded on the national level to two or three people each year.

Butler, an honor student who wants to attend N.C. State University and become a state Highway Patrol trooper, received a standing ovation from the student body.

Laney underwent quintuple bypass surgery and was released from the hospital Feb. 19, 10 days after his heart attack. "(Butler) knew what he was doing, or I wouldn't be here," he said. "He's a mighty fine kid."

Beth Queen, Laney's daughter and the Bandys girls' basketball coach, taught Butler in honors algebra and said his training and persistence is an inspiration.

"It's amazing that a man at that age is able to think so clearly. He never faltered," she said. "I always loved William as a student. Now I really love him."


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