Instinct, training drove Norwich sailor's heroic actions

Navy Chief Culinary Specialist Daniel Spencer Jr., right, smiles after receiving a cap and T-shirt from Gales Ferry Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Tony Saccone. Saccone and Ledyard Mayor John Rodolico were among those honoring Spencer on Friday at the Naval Submarine Station New London in Groton for rescuing two people from a Jan. 18 car wreck.

 

Groton, Conn. — Instinct and training is what moved a Navy chief to rescue two people from a horrific car accident. Ledyard leaders wish there were more people like him.

“Volunteers make our community work,” Ledyard Mayor John Rodolico said in awarding a proclamation to Chief Culinary Specialist Daniel Spencer Jr. during a dockside ceremony at the Naval Submarine Station New London in Groton on Friday. “His actions were exactly like that of the Good Samaritan.”

Spencer, who has lived in Norwich with his wife Joline since January 2011, stopped his vehicle following a head-on collision on Route 12 in Gales Ferry on Jan. 18. He removed a female suffering broken legs from one vehicle then awakened and assisted the male driver of the second car, which was on fire. Neither victim was at Friday’s ceremony held at the USS Springfield, the submarine on which Spencer is executive chef.

Members of the Gales Ferry Volunteer Fire Co. were in attendance including Chief Tony Saccone, who made Spencer a honorary firefighter and presented him with cap and T-shirt. Excerpts of Saccone’s letter to Spencer were read during the ceremony while the sailor’s shipmates stood at attention.

The Good Samaritan, a well-known Biblical story, was also touched upon by the fire chief.

“Some people chose to go around that day,” Saccone said during his speech. “Chief Spencer stayed and fought a good fight and saved lives.”

Spencer, 32, a Pennsylvania native who has been in the Navy for 13 years and serving his second stint at the Groton base, spoke briefly to the crowd that included his wife, mother-in-law Susan Hopkins, and sister-in-law Sabrina Tetreault.

“It was training and instinct,” he said. “The Navy prepares you. I was just being a sailor.”

Spencer is a modest man, his wife said.

“He’s one of the humblest people I know,” Joline Spencer said. “He deserves this even though he doesn’t think so. He’s always the first one to help.”

The response of Ledyard leaders to Spencer’s heroism shows that teamwork extends beyond the Navy in Eastern Connecticut, said Commander Chris Williams, head officer on the USS Springfield.

“It makes a great team,” Williams said. “I really appreciate all this. Chief (Spencer), we couldn’t be prouder.”

The Spencers may continue making Eastern Connecticut their home after Daniel retires from the Navy seven years from now, he said. Joline is from Worcester, Mass., which is an incentive to stay in the area of New London and Windham counties, Daniel Spencer said.

Rodolico and Saccone joined Spencer, Williams and others in a luncheon aboard the submarine Friday.