Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: April 7, 1986
• Invested on: June 13, 1986

Joseph William Gardner, M.B.
Orval Herbert Roulston, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On December 7, 1982, Joseph Gardner and Orval Roulston, of the Douglas Lake Cattle Company ranch in British Columbia, conducted an air search on learning that a man had failed to return the day before from rounding up cattle some 32 km away. They spotted the abandoned horse, then the missing man tumbling about on a lake in sub-zero temperature. Deciding that an immediate rescue was essential despite the risks, Joseph Gardner brought the Cessna 185 lower. The doors were opened and the pair prepared to jump out if the airplane broke through the ice on the partially-frozen lake. With the ice cracking all around it, the place came to a stop. Both men leaped out, grabbed the semi-conscious victim and placed him inside the aircraft. Joseph Gardner hurriedly took off and flew him to safety while Orval Roulston rode the horse back to the ranch.