Topeka ? Four Kansas Army National Guard soldiers are credited with saving two Liberian soldiers who got caught in a riptide while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.

The soldiers are members of the 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports they rescued the two Liberians April 16 while swimming at a beach in Monrovia.

The guardsmen are Sgt. Michael Eicher, of Topeka; Sgt. Joseph Johns, of Great Bend; Sgt. Chad Kuker, of Spearville; and Sgt. Rich Miles, of Topeka.

Kuker told the Capital-Journal that the soldiers and two other Liberian soldiers formed a human chain and waded into the surf to rescue the two swimmers.

The soldiers were recognized in a ceremony led by U.S. Army General Carter F. Ham, who was visiting Monrovia at the time.