National Guardsmen Nearly Drowned, Then Saved 6 from Hurricane (Exclusive)

It has been one year since Hurricane Helene devastated southeastern portions of the United States. Now, a pair of National Guardsmen are being honored for their heroics during the deadly storm.

Brandon Moore and Ethan Ward, of the 776th Maintenance Company in Elizabethton, Tenn., were recently named the USO’s 2025 Service Members of the Year for helping rescue six people from floodwaters in East Tennessee during Hurricane Helene, which killed more than 200 people across six states. 

Moore and Ward, both 24, tell PEOPLE they are “extremely honored and humbled” to have received the prestigious award. They also thank God for not only helping them survive, but giving them the strength to help others do so as well.

“I’d say we got pretty lucky, but I’d also like to say on the record that we had a little helping hand from the big man,” Ethan says.

Adds Brandon, “Really, it was just a blessing in disguise, because just everything has went up from there at that point, and I’m just very blessed that God helped me out that day.”

Brandon first joined the National Guard in October 2019 while he was in college. “I wanted to do something a little more than just working,” he explains.

Ethan, on the other hand, spent his first three and a half years in the U.S. Army on active duty before transitioning into the National Guard. He and Brandon met for the first time during Ethan’s first drill with the National Guard about three years ago. 

Little did they know, they would find themselves on a life-changing mission together just two years later when Helene struck.

Brandon was off from his regular job as a security escort when his National Guard squad leader began “blowing up” his phone, ordering him to get to the armory as soon as possible.

A short time later, Brandon said he and Ethan were assigned to help evacuate a local hospital. But on their way there, trouble ensued as floodwaters quickly rose around their vehicle as they traveled down Interstate 26.

Just after passing Exit 37, Brandon and Ethan’s vehicle tipped over and flooded out. “The water was just unbelievable,” Ethan says, comparing the scene to something out of a movie. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

Self-preservation quickly became top priority, Ethan tells PEOPLE. With endorphins and adrenaline high, the pair did what they could to escape their vehicle and the rising floodwaters.

At the time, Brandon “only had one thought” on his mind: the fear of never seeing his 2 year old son Winston again. “I wouldn’t want to miss my son’s life,” he explains.

Eventually, both Ethan and Brandon managed to reach higher ground by climbing on top of a pile of debris from the storm. After realizing they had “escaped from certain death by the miracle of God,” the two shared an emotional hug.

But as Ethan and Brandon began planning their escape from their precarious position, they spotted six people who were being swept away by the floodwaters. So, they leapt into action.

Ethan and Brandon raced over to the victims, who were riding small pieces of debris as the floodwaters pushed them toward their rescuers. But this was a situation they had not been trained to handle.

“We never had any prior water training, or high water rescue training,” Brandon explains, noting that he became a “good swimmer” after spending much of his life “in and out of the water.”

But the job wasn’t done just yet. They then loaded the victims into a Blackhawk helicopter, which brought everyone to safety. Brandon and Ethan were the last to be rescued.

Despite sustaining some minor injuries — Ethan sustained several cuts, scrapes and bruises while Brandon sustained a small burn on his forehead and scarring on his hands — the pair escaped relatively unscathed, physically.

After being inundated with questions from their National Guard counterparts, they were able to finally return home. Brandon says he began to cry as soon as he was reunited with his father.

“I just looked at my dad, and said, ‘Dad, I almost died today.’ … It was just very emotional,” he recalls.

Several months later, both Brandon and Ethan learned they were being honored for their heroics while working the same shift. “I don’t think we both really knew how to react,” Brandon admits.

“It definitely wasn’t something that I expected us to receive, because at the end of the day, we were just doing our jobs,” Ethan adds. “That was our purpose that day. It’s, honestly, hard to be recognized and to have this honor. I just didn’t expect it to actually happen.”

Now, both men hope their story inspires others to push through their darkest moments in life.

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“Even when you’re at your absolute lowest, and you think that there’s no way out, and that your death is certain … there’s always a way out,” Ethan tells PEOPLE. “It’s never acceptable to quit or give up under any circumstances. You’ve just got to fight with everything you got, and worry about the things you can control. And quitting and giving up is under no circumstances ever acceptable.”

Added Brandon, “The key takeaway should be … when we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest of change, and that no matter what, don’t ever quit and don’t ever give up. And fight for what you believe in and fight for what you love.”