Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: October 5, 1987
• Invested on: December 11, 1987

Joseph Alfred Jean Longval, M.B., Cap de la Madeleine, Que.
Joseph Julien Marc Trudel, M.B., Cap de la Madeleine, Que.
Medal of Bravery

On August 3, 1986, at around 7:00 p.m., a nine-year-old boy was riding his bicycle on a dock located close to the shrine at Cap de la Madeleine, Quebec. He suddenly lost control of his bike, hit a metal guard-rail and was thrown into the St. Lawrence River, which is roughly five metres deep at this point. Jean Longval, who was sitting on a park bench nearby, witnessed the incident. Fearing that the child had hit his head against the dock during the fall, or was trapped beneath his bicycle, Mr. Longval rushed to the scene. The boy rose to the surface but, panic-stricken, went down again several time. Faced with this emergency Mr. Longval emptied his pockets, took off his shoes and jumped off the dock into the water four metres below. Grabbing hold of the child, he tried to tow him toward the shore, but was impeded both by his heavy clothing and the child's struggles, which caused Mr. Longval to go under several times as well. Having observed this precarious situation, Marc Trudel decided to intervene. Mr. Trudel jumped into the water with a rope supplied by another bystander, swam to Mr. Longval, who was about 60 metres from shore, and towed him back to solid ground with the help of two young men on shore who hauled on the rope. Mr. Trudel then swam to the boy, who by that time was floating on his back. All three escaped without injury.