Montezuma, Tripoli, and Now Yuma.

U.S. Marines have served their nation bravely since the Corps was founded, from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli. But two Iraq-bound Marines recently proved their worth while stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona.

Cpl. William Koppelman, Jr., of Pasadena, Maryland, and Cpl. Brian G. Johnson, of Santaquin, Utah, were roommates at the base and part of Headquarters and Service Company, MWSS-371. On February 17, Cpl. Koppelman was talking to a neighbor on the balcony when he noticed smoke coming from a nearby apartment complex. Koppelman jumped over two walls and a fence to get near enough to the source of the fire to investigate. He called for help and Cpl. Johnson followed.

"I was like, 'Oh man, this can't be good,'" Johnson told the Daily Herald (Utah). As if running a Marine obstacle course, he jumped the same walls and fence.

Meanwhile, Koppelman found the apartment in flames and began searching for a man someone said was in the back. Jumping to a roof, he looked into the backyard and saw a man identified as Gilberto Lopez, Jr. unconscious on his patio.

"I yelled for help. He was a big guy," Koppelman told his hometown paper, the Capital (Maryland).

Cpl. Johnson and another man, Dale Crosser, arrived quickly, and Koppelman started kicking down one of the fences so they could evacuate Lopez. And their rescue was just in time.

"As soon as we got through the first fence, the back of the apartment blew," Koppelman told the Capital. "It was like something out of a movie."

The explosion blew out the patio doors and embedded glass into the fence 15 feet away. All of the furniture on the patio was melted or otherwise charred.

Cpl. Koppelman led the way, kicking down four fences, while Cpl. Johnson and Mr. Crosser dragged and carried Lopez along. They finally found an unlocked apartment through which they passed to the front of the building.

At the front of the complex, the men met firefighters and emergency personnel. Johnson told the Daily Herald: "We just stayed with him until the ambulance took him away."

Both Marines attributed their cool headedness to their military training. Koppelman said: "It was just like basic training.... Split-second decisions make the difference. It's what I joined up for."

Yuma Mayor Larry Nelson gave Corporals Koppelman and Johnson certificates of commendation for public service before they left for Iraq. A spokesman for the fire department said that Dale Crosser, the third rescuer, will receive a separate citation from the department at a later date.

"I don't have any doubt [Mr. Lopez] would have been killed," said Mayor Nelson, who called the men heroes.