Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: September 26, 1983
• Invested on: December 09, 1983

Allen Clarke Snydmiller, M.B.
Daniel Allan Snydmiller, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

Allen Snydmiller and his fifteen-year-old son Danny rescued two men from certain drowning in Eagle Lake, late on the evening of 12 May 1982. Three men had been fishing on the lake when strong winds and high waves caused their motorboat to capsize. Two of them managed to cling to the overturned boat while getting the attention of a woman on shore; the other expired in the cold water, but remained afloat with his life-jacket. Noticing their plight through his rifle scope, Mr. Snydmiller at once notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Though untrained in life-saving techniques, he and Danny departed in a small canoe which they found lying on the shore. They paddled toward the men in distress, guided only by the sound of shrill cries for help in the dark. With much difficulty, the Snydmiller hauled the three sportsmen on board and rowed to within thirty-five metres from shore when a squall blew them back on the lake. By that time the lake was very rough and extremely dangerous. Wet and exhausted, but determined to save the lives of the two men, they steered their overcrowded canoe in another direction, eventually landing near a farm on the south shore. An ambulance arrived and the survivors of this unfortunate accident were taken to hospital.