Joe Serna, a retired army sergeant first class, had a not so pleasant encounter with the law a few years ago. Namely, he was arrested for drunk driving, and hasn’t been allowed to drink ever since as a part of his probation.
But, when he got caught in a lie about a urine test, he certainly didn’t expect this to happen.
The judge presiding over his case was Lou Olivera, himself a veteran, too. He felt that the best way to deal with Serna’s indiscretion was to hold him accountable, so he sentenced him to a night in jail.
But, for a veteran like Serna, who had three tours in Afganistan, this wasn’t an easy thing to hear.
As soon as the door of the cell opened, Serna felt the walls closing in. He had flashbacks and he couldn’t stop thinking about the night that he describes as the scariest moment in his life.
“We were following the creek and road gave way. Truck started filling with water… All hope was lost.”
Serna explained in a recent interview.
Once again, Serna could feel the cold water rising over his legs, waist, neck… until his chin was in the water as well. But, as luck would have it, it stopped. He was the sole survivor.
Haunted by the images of that dreadful night, he became more and more anxious.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Serna couldn’t believe his eyes – judge Olivera came to join him for the night! As they talked, the horrible images slowly faded from Serna’s mind.
“He brought me back from that truck in Afghanistan. The walls didn’t exist anymore.”
As for judge Olivera, he felt that it was his duty to provide support for Serna, knowing his history and having already experienced what Serna was going through.
He knew that spending a night in jail, no matter how necessary it was, must be incredibly difficult for Green Beret veteran. And it was the best thing he could possibly do: moved by his actions, Serna promised him that he wouldn’t let him down.
Watch this video to see how they described this experience:
