Super hero wanted: Airman's efforts stop robbery Published May 19, 2011 By Senior Airman Clay Murray 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- As children, we may have pretended to be heroes and superheroes like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. As Airmen, however, our perception of what a hero is changes to people like Esther Blake, John Levitow or William H. Pitsenbarger. For some still, there are other heroic people among the masses who may not hold significant Air Force firsts or have earned the Medal of Honor. Staff Sgt. Nathan Londak's is one such person. His actions in delaying and halting a robbery near Volkel Air Base, the Netherlands, could be called heroic. On a routine nightly walk with his girlfriend and dog, Sergeant Londak noticed a woman peering into a casino near t where he lives. Not giving it much thought, he strolled by the casino and noticed a pair of bicycles hastily laid inside the doorway. At that moment, two men wearing pantyhose on their heads grabbed the bikes and began to leave the scene. "They tried to get away, but my girlfriend and I had put our arms out to keep one of them from getting away," Sergeant Londak explained. "We cornered one against a restaurant window, and he ran into it and fell off of his bike. He punched me once in the jaw, so I fired back and hit him in the face," he added. Initially, a couple of bikes inside a casino door did not seem like much of a problem, said Sergeant Londak. However, upon seeing masked men preparing to flee the scene, he realized something wasn't right. "I just remembered that I had to keep at least one of them at the scene for as long as I could," Sergeant Londak said. "Afterward it hit a little harder because I didn't know they had held a gun to an employee's head to get the money, and they destroyed the cash cage until after the police arrived. I continued to stay calm and collected though, just a little shook up about the gun situation and what could have happened." After the short brawl, the alleged thief attempted to dash away from the scene but was restrained by Sergeant Londak before the alleged robber's accomplice helped him break free. "I let him go as the second guy swung at me, and I swung back to keep my distance," he said. "He helped his buddy up, and they both stumbled leaving their bikes behind and dropping two-Euro coins all over the ground." After the incident, Sergeant Londak pursued the two men on foot with a couple while other people from the casino alerted authorities of their location. Within 10 minutes of leaving the area, the villains were nabbed with roughly €10,000. "I really don't feel like I am a hero," he said. "I helped because I am part of that community, and I see the casino employees on a regular basis. I feel that everyone has the instinct to help." Several weeks have passed since the event near Sergeant Londak's residence, and after a few days of paranoia, his nerves calmed and returned to normal. "After it was over, I was worried there were some lookouts because people were driving by slowly rubbernecking the scene," Sergeant Londak said. "I was just worried someone had seen me go into my apartment directly above it, and something would happen. After a couple of days though, things were back to normal." Sergeant Londak, who modestly says he is not a hero, acted heroically and helped citizens of the host nation, the Netherlands, stop criminals in their tracks.