Airman who helped stop train attack throws out first pitch at Nationals game

WASHINGTON - Fans at Friday night's Washington Nationals game got a special treat as a real American hero threw out the honorary first pitch.

Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone helped stop an attempted mass shooting on a French train in August.

Stone was the special guest for U.S. Air Force Day at Nationals Park.

"It's really exciting," he said. "It's the first time I've ever gotten to tour a pro locker room for baseball. The Nationals guys are awesome guys."

The past month has been a whirlwind for 23-year-old man who helped stop a suspected terrorist as he opened fire on a train full of passengers headed from Amsterdam to Paris.

"I haven't even really had time to sit down and really think about it all because I've just been going, going, going," he said.

Stone acted with the help of two Americans, a French man and a British citizen.

While the rest of the world honors the men as heroes, Stone's family said that is just the kind of man he really is.

"When my mom called me, without knowing any specifics at all, I already knew that's exactly what he would do, so it wasn't surprising at all," said Stone's brother, Everett.

"We're just very grateful that everything turned out the way it did, and thankful that Spencer wasn't seriously injured as he could have been, and people went home to their families that night," said Stone's mother, Joyce Eskel.

Stone was hurt and is still recovering. But his injuries didn't stop him from jumping into action a second time to help an injured passenger who was bleeding out.

"He got shot in the back and it kind of bounced around in his body a little bit and then came out the left side of his neck and severed his carotid artery," Stone described. "And I kind of crawled over, stuck my fingers in his neck and stopped the bleeding that way."

Stone was recently awarded with a Purple Heart and he also received the Airman's Medal. He was also promoted to staff sergeant.