It was just another night at work for Imran Yousuf, a bouncer at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. But when shots rang out and others froze, unsure of what they were hearing, this former U.S. Marine had no doubt the club was under attack.

“There was only one choice. Either we all stay there and die, or I could take the chance, and I jumped over to open that latch,” Yousuf said.

Yousuf, a 24-year-old from Orlando, served as a Marine in Afghanistan and just left the Marine Corps last month. He served as an engineer equipment electrical systems technician in the Corps from June 2010 to May 2016, according to service officials, and deployed to Afghanistan in 2011.

He was last assigned to 3rd Marine Logistics Group. His military awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Korean Defense Service Medal, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Marine Corps Times noted.

LifeZette connected with Yousuf, but he politely declined an interview after being bombarded by national media.

“I’m trying to get back to my normal life now. I have to respectfully decline,” he told LifeZette.

Yet his story deserves to be told.

Yousuf knew there was an attack underway the minute he heard gunfire. Because he was familiar with combat as well as the nightclub’s layout, he was able to guide a frightened crowd to unlatch a nearby door.

“I’m screaming, ‘Open the door! Open the door!’ And no one is moving because they are scared,” he told CBS. “There was only one choice. Either we all stay there and we all die, or I could take the chance. And I jumped over to open that latch, and we got everyone that we can out of there.”

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He said about 60 or 70 people got through the door. Even so — he said he wished he had been able to help save more people

To the individuals whose lives he saved — and to all who have heard his story — he is a hero. His is the kind of story that allows us to marvel at all of the positive things that have resulted in spite of tragedy.

Military Members: An Undercover Asset
Capt. Adam Marr, a former Apache helicopter pilot and Army commander from Fort Worth, Texas, said Yousuf’s military training was a key factor in helping him “react and overcome” a stressful “life-or-death” situation.

Because today’s service members and veterans willingly enlist, they are typically people who demonstrate heroism even before they go through military training, Marr, co-founder of the Warrior Angels Foundation, said. His group helps service members and veterans who have experienced traumatic brain injuries.

Undoubtedly, though, Yousuf’s military education gave him the foundation he needed to snap into action.

“If he had a chance to take out the assailant, he probably would have,” Marr said. His actions spoke directly to “the caliber of men and women who agree to go serve their country in a time of war.”

In the event of future attacks, past and present military members could prove to be a valuable asset during times of crisis. Most service members and veterans are already committed to standing up in the face of danger, though their protective instincts could definitely help out in a pinch.

Marr recently returned from his first trip to the 9/11 memorial in New York City. It helped him reflect, but also caused him to think about what he would do if he were in an attack.

“You kind of prepare yourself,” Marr said. “This is all part of the foundation training that we get in the military.”

Related: Are You Safer Today?

This isn’t the first time former military members and retired cops have intervened in a time of extreme violence, said Dr. Richard J. Hoyer, president and CEO of the Homeland Security Defense Coalition. The coalition provides counterterrorism education; Hoyer has undergone extensive law enforcement training.

“It’s drilled into their makeup of who they have become,” he said.