Citadel cadet Miles Scott visits Mrs. Felicia Breeland at least twice a week.
The two have forged a friendship larger than the over sixty decades between their ages.
Scott was put to the test one February morning when he went to see Mrs. Breeland to drop off some books that she had loaned to him.
Instead of being greeted with a hug and a smile, Scott encountered unanswered doorbell rings and knocks.
“It was a scary day,” Scott said.
Mrs. Breeland’s son watched that morning from just a few miles away.
He had stepped away from the downtown home for a business meeting.
“When someone rings the doorbell, immediately I get a notification that someone’s at the front door,” said Levanza Breeland.
When he saw it was Miles, he wasn’t concerned.
But on that particular day, something told Levanza to stay connected to the Ring doorbell video.
After several minutes of Miles being unable to get Mrs. Breeland to answer the door, Levanza stepped in to try to reach his mother.
He said, “I called the landline; I called her cell. No answer.”
Plan B was put into motion, and through some direction, Miles was able to get into the locked home.
“When he walked in, he immediately called me on his cell, and I told him to put me on speaker phone, look around, call my mother’s name, and tell me what you see,” Levanza said.
Miles couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I see her down on the ground, and I’m just like, what? What is happening?” he said.
Mrs. Breeland wasn’t sure how she ended up on the floor.
“I remember getting up going in the restroom, and that’s about it,” she said.
Miles called 9-1-1, and EMS arrived within minutes.
The retired educator and musician is a treasure in the community.
She was a performer in the original “Porgy & Bess” production and a member of “The Charleston Choraliers.”
She married the late former state Representative Floyd Breeland for sixty years. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 87.
Mrs. Breeland also served as the longtime organist of the couple’s beloved Emanuel AME church in downtown Charleston.
She believes that Miles being at her house that morning was more than just good timing.
“Only God, yes, ma’am, can plan for someone to come at that morning when I needed help,” she said.
After a few short days in the hospital, Mrs. Breeland was released.
And Miles’ deed did not go unnoticed.
The Citadel presented him with the Mazur Award.
The medal is presented to a cadet who distinguishes themself by an act of outstanding citizenship that goes far beyond the normal expectations of cadet daily life.
Mrs. Breeland agrees.
“He’s my angel. God sent. God sent,” she said.
Click here to watch the full interview.
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