Cpl. Gabriel Castleman, left, and Sgt. Logan Gilbert of the 9th Engineer Support Battalion discuss how they provided medical assistance to a Japanese man choking at a ramen shop, at the battalion’s headquarters on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Jan. 23, 2026. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — Two Marines recently provided first aid to a Japanese man in his 80s who was choking while experiencing a seizure at a ramen shop in northern Okinawa.
Cpl. Gabriel Castleman, of Duluth, Minn., and Sgt. Logan Gilbert, of San Antonio, Texas, said their Marine training kicked in when the man sitting next to them Wednesday evening collapsed at Ramen Tsurumiya in Kin town.
Both Marines are combat engineers with the 9th Engineer Support Battalion at Camp Hansen.
“I wouldn’t have known to check his airways … to check if he was choking,” Gilbert said during a Friday interview at battalion headquarters. “I wouldn’t have known to put him in the recovery position and all that.”
Battalion executive officer Maj. Jim McGeady said he received a report late Wednesday of two Marines “involved in an incident” with locals.
“Usually that’s not good news – we don’t get a lot of that, but this was actually great news,” he told Stars and Stripes at battalion headquarters Friday. “They were there at a time and a place where they could help save a man who otherwise may have passed away.”
Sgt. Logan Gilbert, left, and Cpl. Gabriel Castleman pose outside the 9th Engineer Support Battalion’s headquarters on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Jan. 23, 2026. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
The Marines have not been officially commended, but McGeady said there will be “more to follow.”
Gilbert said he was having dinner with Castleman around 6:30 p.m. when the Japanese man fell backward onto him. At first, the Marines thought he was laughing at something his friend had said but he seemed to be clawing at his throat.
Gilbert said they laid the man down and tapped him on the back, causing him to cough up food. The Marines then checked his airway and put him on his side with his legs crossed in the recovery position so he wouldn’t choke, Castleman said.
“And then he started foaming out the mouth and then blood started coming out,” he said. “That’s when we were like … this is actually happening.”
The man convulsed for about seven minutes, Castleman said. When he came to, the Marines helped him sit up. He had no memory of what had happened and began walking around the shop in a daze.
The Marines helped the man to a seat, but after five minutes he stood up again, walked to the bathroom and collapsed, Castleman said. Gilbert said he held the man up for about 10 minutes, then helped him outside when emergency services arrived.
A Kin Fire Department spokesman confirmed by phone Thursday that two service members provided aid to the man before an ambulance took him to a hospital. He did not know the man’s condition.
Some Japanese government officials must speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
The Marines said they felt no hesitation to step in and help.
“We’re here to help build camaraderie with the Japanese as well, and we need them as they need us,” Gilbert said. “Hopefully, the more good things that happen like this, they can at least look at Marines and think that, at least that they’re safe and that they can count on us.”
Stars and Stripes reporter Keishi Koja contributed to this report.
AloJapan.com