Lakewood Marine crawled under a blazing truck

LAKEWOOD - There is bravery, and then there is heroism. What Robert Cartwright did on Aug. 6, 1977, was a death-defying mix of both.

A Marine Corps reservist stationed in California, Cartwright was washing his clothes when a diesel refuel truck caught fire on his base’s airstrip. As flames began to engulf the 1,200-gallon vehicle, Cartwright grabbed a fire extinguisher and raced to the scene. Then he crawled underneath this ticking time bomb and put the blaze out by himself.

“I did it because that’s what you do,” he recalled Thursday from his home in Leisure Village. “That was my job.”

After he had averted disaster, Cartwright returned to washing his clothes as if nothing had happened. But witnesses wrote their superiors, urging an award for heroism. He still possesses their yellowed testimonials.

“He crawled on the scorching hot matting to get underneath the burning vehicle,” reads one.

“His life was in great peril,” reads another.

The brass agreed, and in 1978 Cartwright received an official commendation.

“His courageous and prompt actions in the face of great personal risk averted a massive explosion and fire that could have cost numerous lives and caused considerable damage,” the citation reads. “Gunnery Sergeant Cartwright’s presence of mind, striking courage and coolness reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Marine Corps.”

But the accompanying award, the prestigious Navy and Marine Corps Medal, didn’t arrive at his Lakewood home until nearly four decades later. It was mailed with a letter that said, in essence, “We just realized we owed you this.”

Robert Cartwright is 86 now and suffers from congestive heart failure, though he remains active as a chaplain for the Lakewood Police Department. The Oceanport native spent his life in various forms of service — a Marine in the Korean War, a policeman in Tinton Falls, a firefighter on Sandy Hook and a counselor for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

But the reserves were his lifelong passion, a pursuit he juggled while helping raise four children. He retired in 1991 after 34 years, having risen to the rank of chief warrant officer.

 years. “A lot of years we didn’t go on vacation because he was on military leave.”

When the medal arrived in 2015, Robert was unsure of its significance. A little research cleared that up: It’s the military’s highest non-combat decoration for heroism.

But why, exactly, did it take so long to get there?

David Perez, past commander of Cartwright’s VFW Post — A. Jay Weeks VFW Post 6063 in Toms River — developed a theory after looking into the matter.

“It appeared that the commander of the base he was at had been transferred (after the fuel truck fire) and then this award came in to the new commander who wasn’t aware of what had happened,” Perez said. “He probably put it in a desk drawer or file drawer, (intending) to get to it later, and forgot all about it. Unfortunately, things like that happen in the military.”

The Cartwrights chuckle about it.

“Doesn’t that happen to — a lot of people? Things get lost in the shuffle,” Rae said. “I’m proud of him (for his act), but that’s his personality. He jumps in and does what he has to do.”

In May, the medal finally was presented to Cartwright in a formal ceremony with military personnel, veterans affairs officers and local politicians at the Ocean County Administration Building.

“He deserves it for what he did,” said Perez, who attended. “It’s nice that he can get recognition for doing something right, even if it comes after the fact — much after the fact.”