The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Airman’s Medal to Airman First Class Keith L. Vanderpoel, United States Air Force, for heroism involving voluntary risk of life in the town of Comayagua, near Coronel Enrique Soto Cano Air Base, Republic of Honduras, on 6 March 1998. On that date, Airman Vanderpoel’s quick thinking and calm, deliberate actions were directly responsible for averting certain human tragedy. Returning to the base, Airman Vanderpoel witnessed a serious traffic accident and without hesitation, ordered the driver to stop. Upon arriving on the accident scene, while standing in a pool of gasoline that was leaking from a pickup truck, Airman Vanderpoel disconnected a battery cable, which was causing sparks to shoot in every direction. After extinguishing a small fire in the front of the vehicle, Airman Vanderpoel pulled two victims from the passenger side of the vehicle and, with the aid of a Honduran police lieutenant, used a pipe to pry the third victim, the driver, from the vehicle. Notified that one of the victims was not breathing, Airman Vanderpoel applied his training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to revive the victim despite not having any protective equipment to wear. After securing the situation, Airman Vanderpoel coordinated with Honduran fire and ambulance officials and returned to the base to treat the minor cuts and burns he sustained. By his courageous action and humanitarian regard for his fellowman, Airman Vanderpoel has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.