The paramedic who asked the question would repeat the answer for years afterward.

I learned the names of all five men later.

Dale “Wrench” Buckner.
Luis Ortega.
Mitch Halpern.
DeShawn Pike.
Ronnie Velez.

None of them considered themselves heroes.

Luis missed work the next day because he needed twelve stitches in his shoulder from broken glass. When his boss asked what happened, he reportedly shrugged and said, “Busy afternoon.”

Mitch owned a repair garage outside Knoxville. DeShawn had done two tours in Afghanistan. Ronnie was fifty-eight years old and had arthritis in both knees bad enough that climbing down that embankment should’ve been impossible.