ELKTON, Md. -- Like many little brothers, 7-year-old William Richmond loves to follow his older brother around.

Its'a good thing, too, because that's how he learned a life-saving maneuver that saved his brother's life.

"I didn't think I was going to live," said 12-year-old Mark Richmond. "I didn't know what was going to happen next."

The two brothers from Elkton, who love playing soccer together, wound up at the center of a life-and-death situation on a recent Boy Scouts camping trip when Mark choked on a piece of bacon.

"It was stringy, wasn't cooked all the way," Mark said. "… I was eating it, and I swallowed it, and it just got caught in my throat … I was grabbing my neck, and I shook my head 'yes' when someone asked if I was choking."

William saw what was happening and jumped to action.

"I did the Heimlich removal," William said.

And remove the piece of bacon, he did.

"William just ran over. He put his hands around his fist, went up into my chest and did it two times. And it just popped out," Mark said.

William learned the Heimlich maneuver at his brother's Boy Scout meeting. His mother had no idea he picked up the skill

"I just keep going up to him and saying, 'You're my little hero, my little lifesaver," said Theresa Richmond.

William said he's thankful he still has his big brother to push him around.

"I love him, and I wanted to try to save his life," William said.

Mark said he has come to appreciate his little brother. He vows to be nice to him for at least a year, and the 12-year-old is laying off the bacon.