No one had to ask twice for help amid the injuries and damage caused when three people were injured in two separate plane crashes in Prince Edward and Buckingham counties on July 3 and 4, respectively.

On days when many are scheduling and enjoying their Independence Day plans, volunteer rescue squad and fire department members, neighbors, police, first responders and good Samaritans took to cornfields in the Heart of Virginia, seeking to offer aid to those injured, searching for their crashed aircrafts.

The first incident was reported after 1 p.m. at 700 Moore Road west of Hampden Sydney on July 3, causing serious but non-life threatening injuries to its pilot. The second came the next day less than 24 hours after the first in the 100 block of Mountain View Lane off of Rock Mill Road near Enonville in Buckingham County.

In the Buckingham crash one person suffered life-threatening injuries while a passenger was treated on scene for his injuries.

Unifying behind a common goal of lending a helping hand, these men and women braved the heat, transporting patients, knocking down tall stalks of corn to get to the injured, dousing water onto flames, bringing cold water to others and offering pats on the back of support to those affected by the crashes.

The situation that resulted from the emergencies — the banding together of communities and lending a helping hand by strangers to those who need it most — is far from alien.

We offer our thanks to those who helped provide aid during probably the most terrifying moments of the lives of three injured in the crashes in their darkest hours of need.