Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: April 7, 1986
• Invested on: June 13, 1986

Ronald Thomas Adams, M.B.
Susan Elizabeth McHale, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

About midnight on May 19, 1984, Ronald Adams and Susan McHale went to the aid of two young men whose canoe had overturned in Rock Lake in Ontario's Algonquin Park. Alerted by cries for help, Ronald Adams and Susan McHale launched a canoe. Hindered by darkness and an echo which confused them, they still managed to locate the victims. One, exhausted, was holding up the head of his unconscious companion while hanging on to a flotation cushion. Mr. Adams dove in. As he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the inert body suddenly sank, dragging the rescuer ten metres under the surface. The young man could not be saved and Mr. Adams was forced to return alone to the surface. Ronald Adams and Susan McHale then tried to pull the other victim into their canoe, which overturned. All three clung to the partly-submerged canoe until help arrived.