Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: February 11, 1998
• Invested on: September 18, 1998

Serge Fréchette, M.B.
Jean Pedneault, M.B.
Medal of Bravery


On March 14, 1996, Serge Fréchette and Jean Pedneault rescued three men whose all-terrain vehicle plunged into the St. Lawrence River, near Boucherville Islands, Quebec. Messrs. Fréchette and Pedneault were fishing nearby when they saw the vehicle go through the ice. They immediately rushed to the scene where the victims were trying desperately to climb back onto the thin layer of ice, which broke each time they tried. While a friend went to get a cable, Mr. Fréchette crawled onto the fragile surface, grabbed one of the victims by the hand and held him until the cable arrived, ten minutes later. Mr. Pedneault then took hold of the rope and dragged himself until he could wrap it around one of the victims' wrists and grab the other by his clothes. Using all of his strength, he managed to get them out of the hole. Mr. Pedneault then went back to help the third man on the other side of the hole, who was still being held by Mr. Fréchette, by now exhausted. The victim let go to grab the cable and when Mr. Pedneault approached, the ice broke. He then leaped into the water to catch the struggling man and, grasping the cable, they were both rescued.