First aid training came in handy for Citadel cadet who helped save C of C student’s life in Marion Square

While in high school, Citadel cadet Robert Christian Mundy Jr. took a first aid course, intending to become a lifeguard.

“I never did become a lifeguard,” the Florida native and junior in the military college’s Lima Company said. But the training wasn’t for naught: Mundy knew what to do on April 4, when a College of Charleston student collapsed in Marion Square.

“His friends got him some water, but I could see that he wasn’t moving, and I ran over to see what I could do,” Mundy recalled.

Mundy used his knowledge about CPR to keep the fallen student alive until EMS could take over. “I never had a chance to use it before,” Mundy said about his first aid training.

The stricken student, whose name was not made available, reportedly has a congenital heart condition with a slight arrhythmia and had suffered a heart attack.

Kneeling beside the student, Mundy applied repeated chest compressions, but said “there was no response before, during or after.” But he said he was told later by EMS that his effort kept the student’s heart beating faintly while help was on the way.

The student underwent surgery at Medical University Hospital and is expected to make a complete recovery. Mundy and the three other cadets who saved the life of a stabbing victim in a separate incident on April 15 will receive the Cadet Medal for Valor on Thursday.

The Cadet Medal of Valor was first awarded in 1999, and recognizes cadets who have distinguished themselves through acts of heroism that result in an accomplishment so exceptional or outstanding and/or involve danger or extraordinary responsibility so as to set them apart. “I am proud to recognize these cadets for their heroic actions. Each of these young men is a credit to the Corps of Cadets and The Citadel,” said Citadel President Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa (USAF retired).