Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: August 22, 1988
• Invested on: April 19, 1987

On the afternoon of April 18, 1987, Zack Tuttauk saved a woman from drowning in Lake Melville, Labrador, when her snowmobile sank in the cold water. The victim, travelling alone, had mistakenly entered the wrong inlet between islands and struck open water where the tidal current had created a large hole in the ice. Clinging to an ice pan with her bare hands, the woman, calling for help, was noticed by Zack Tuttauk, on shore, who immediately set off on his snowmobile in the woman's direction. Unable to reach her with a rope, he risked his own safety by jumping over an expanse of open water onto the ice pan where he succeeded in getting the rope around the victim's shoulders and, after considerable effort, was able to pull her up onto the ice. By now two other men had arrived with a komatik (snowmobile trailer) which they used as a bridge over the water. Just as Mr. Tuttauk and the victim were safely into the komatik, the ice pan broke up, almost flipping the two into the frigid lake. The victim was taken to a nearby cabin to recover from her harrowing experience.