Airmen receive Tokyo Fire Department award following Tama River rescue

A Japanese fire department official in a white uniform jacket stands addressing seated U.S. Air Force personnel in a conference room. The service members are seated around a wooden table with drinks and small plates. A wall-mounted TV displays “OKUTAMA FIRE STATION” with mountain scenery.

Okutama Fire Chief Tsuyoshi Ito discusses the lifesaving actions of Staff Sgt. Danaie Lloyd, far left, and Senior Airman Malachi Mustango, center, during their visit to Okutama Fire Station in Okutama, Japan, July 30, 2025. They are joined by Lt. Col. Matt Buchholtz, commander of Yokota Air Base’s 36th Airlift Squadron. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)

OKUTAMA, Japan — Two airmen from Yokota Air Base were honored by the Tokyo Fire Department this week for helping to save a woman who fell into a river canyon west of the city.

Senior Airman Malachi Mustango and Staff Sgt. Danaie Lloyd were presented with certificates of appreciation Wednesday by the chief of Okutama Fire Station, Tsuyoshi Ito, for their lifesaving actions on June 19 after Mustango saw the woman fall about 50 feet from a bridge over the Tama River in Hatonosu Canyon.

Mustango and Lloyd were on a group hike near Okutama, a mountain town about an hour west of Yokota, according to a July 14 press release from the 374th Airlift Wing. The airmen were not available for interviews after Wednesday’s ceremony.

The woman fell as Mustango was taking photos from the bottom of the canyon, the release said.

Two U.S. Air Force service members in camouflage uniforms hold framed certificates with Japanese text at a Tokyo Fire Department ceremony. Behind them is a green and white backdrop with Tokyo Fire Department logos and Japanese text.

Senior Airman Malachi Mustango, center left, and Staff Sgt. Danaie Lloyd, center right, pose with certificates of appreciation for lifesaving efforts, during a ceremony at Okutama Fire Station in Okutama, Japan, July 30, 2025. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)

Mustango, a resource adviser for the 36th Airlift Squadron, called out to her but got no response and saw no movement, according to the release. He handed his phone, wallet and keys to Lloyd, who dialed 119, Japan’s emergency number, while he dove into the river to help.

Lloyd, an inventory inspection supervisor for the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron, said she was unsure if the dispatcher understood her, so they waited for a translator to join the call.

Although the call lasted only a few minutes, it felt much longer, Lloyd said during Wednesday’s presentation.

The Tokyo Fire Department deployed a rescue team from the Okutama Fire Station and a helicopter to airlift the injured woman out of the canyon.

Meanwhile, Mustango swam through the strong current and cold water to reach the injured woman. He checked her for bleeding and external injuries and tried to keep her immobile, concerned she might have a spinal injury, according to the release.

“At one point she began to say 119. I tried to tell her everything will be okay, and I was just hoping she understood me,” Mustango said in the release.

Upon arrival, rescuers determined the canyon was too narrow for an airlift and instead carried the woman out on a stretcher, Ito said during the presentation. She was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital.

“It’s very easy for people to get swept away by the current if no one is there to help,” Ito said. “She is very lucky that you were there, and thanks to your brave and courageous actions that day she is OK.”