Star of Courage

• Awarded on: July 3, 1973
• Invested on: August 02, 1973

Malcolm Rodney Aspeslet, S.C.
Star of Courage

Malcolm Aspeslet attacked a grizzly bear in Balu Pass, British Columbia, on September 30, 1971, when the animal was mauling his companion. The two young people were tramping along a mountain trail when they found themselves between a female grizzly and its cubs. When the adult bear rushed to the attack, Mr. Aspeslet thrust his companion to the ground in an attempt to protect her. The animal thrust him aside and began to maul the girl. Drawing his hunting knife the young man leaped onto the bear, stabbing at its throat. Together they rolled down into a creek bed. Before his ordeal was over the young man sustained deep lacerations to his head and face. Through his persistence in the face of so grave a threat, Mr. Aspeslet was almost certainly responsible for saving the girl's life.