Star of Courage

• Awarded on: February 25, 1974
• Invested on: February 14, 1975

On August 9, 1972, fifty-two-year-old John Tirone, a bridge operator on the Welland Canal at Port Colborne, Ontario, was drowned when attempting to rescue a nine-year-old boy who had fallen off the CNR bridge crossing the canal. The mishap occurred when the wheels of the child's bicycle became wedged between planks along the tracks on the railway bridge causing him to fall through an opening in the bridge. Mr. Tirone was on his way to work when he noticed the boy struggling in the water. He ran to the furthest point along the walkway and dove fully clothed into the water. The current carried them both some distance along while the man held the victim's head above water. Bystanders attempted to assist them by throwing out life preservers. Unfortunately, all efforts failed as Mr. Tirone and the boy disappeared below the surface and were drowned.