A brave Oklahoma 11-year-old boy who rescued two people in one day this month is no ordinary Okie from Muskogee – even if the sixth-grader played down his acts of heroism as simply ‘the right thing to do.’
Davyon Johnson saved a classmate from choking and pulled an elderly woman from her burning home on December 9 to become the toast of his eastern Oklahoma town.
There have been pizza parties, award ceremonies and national news attention. He was made an honorary member of both the Muskogee Sheriff’s Department and the Muskogee Police Department.
His mother told the New York Times that he had asked her why he was being rewarded for doing the right thing.
‘I told him, “You saved two people’s lives,”‘ said LaToya Johnson, Davyon’s mother.
‘”That is special.”‘
Johnson is pictured receiving thanks from Muskogee officials on December 15
Davyon Johnson is pictured accepting certificates naming him an honorary officer of both the Muskogee Sheriff’s Department and the Muskogee Police Department
Since Davyon Johnson, 11, (pictured) rescued two people on December 9, his month has been a whirlwind of pizza parties, award ceremonies and national news attention. Now, he is even an honorary member of the Muskogee Sheriff’s Department
On the morning of December 9, Dayvon heard a seventh-grader gasp for help near the water fountain at their school. The older boy had opened a plastic water bottle with his mouth, and the cap went sliding down his throat.
Luckily, Dayvon had just recently watched a YouTube tutorial demonstrating the Heimlich maneuver.
He squeezed the boy’s midsection three times – on the third push, the cap came flying out of the choking boy’s mouth.
As emergency medical technicians arrived on the scene, Dayvon stayed by the boy’s side, continuously asking if he was alright.
The boy was uninjured, and returned to school the next day, said Latoya Dawkins, the school’s principal.
‘He acts like he’s about 80,’ Dawkins said of Davyon. ‘He’s definitely an old soul.’
Dayvon said he was inspired to learn the technique because he wanted to emulate his uncle, Wendell Johnson, who works as an EMT, a profession he has wanted to join since he was six years old, he told the New York Times.
Later that day, Dayvon and his mother were driving to a church service around 5pm when the boy spotted smoke coming from a nearby house.
‘I didn’t think nothing of it, but he was like, “No, Momma, this is a house on fire,”‘ his mom recalled.
Johnson said he was inspired to learn the Heimlich maneuver because his uncle Wendell Johnson works as an EMT
On the morning of December 9, Johnson heard a seventh grader whisper for help through his gasps by the water fountain at their school (pictured)
As they pulled up to the house, the smell of burning wood grew stronger. There were cars parked outside – if anyone was home, they were unaware of the growing fire at the back of the house.
Johnson raced up to knock on the front door as his mother laid on the horn in the driveway. Five people immediately fled the house as soon as they realized what was happening.
But the home’s sixth occupant, an elderly woman, was using a walker and was slow to evacuate.
‘She wasn’t moving fast enough,’ Davyon told The Times. ‘So I’ve got to kind of help her get to her truck because everybody was leaving.’
As he and his mother drove away to attend their church service, they could see fire trucks arriving on the scene.
Dayvon was inspired in the second instance of heroism by his late father, who he watched enter a burning apartment complex nearby to make sure its occupants had evacuated when he was just eight years old.
He told The Times that his father, Willie James Logan, had done the ‘right thing’ that day.
‘I look up to my dad,’ he said.
Earlier this year, on August 19, his father died from complications of COVID-19 at just 52 years old.
Dawkins, told the outlet that she didn’t think the boy has ‘internalized how important the feat was that he did.’
‘He said to me: “I don’t want everyone to pay attention to me. I kind of did what I was supposed to do,”‘ she said, adding that Dayvon is ‘always willing to help, always just a friend to everyone.’
Regardless, Muskogee Public Schools, the sheriff’s department and even the mayor of the city have all shaken the boy’s hand, thanking him for his actions.
‘The entire Muskogee community is so proud of Dayvon for his heroic acts. His courage goes beyond his years,’ said Terra Shows, a spokesperson for Muskogee.
‘His ability to think quickly and react saved two lives in one day. What an accomplishment!’