Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: January 19, 1976
• Invested on: February 16, 1976

Fifteen-year-old Francis Sheppard, at considerable risk to his own life, removed a two-year-old boy from inside a car which had rolled into the Rainy River at Emo, Ontario on May 25, 1974. Mr. Sheppard observed the vehicle with the child in the front seat reverse down an embankment and plunge into the water, while working some one hundred yards away. Taking immediate action, the young man raced to the river's edge and dove fully-clothed into the frigid water. Upon reaching the car which had drifted several yards with the current, Francis found a rear window open and motioned to the frightened youngster to come to him. The boy was freed from the automobile seconds before it rolled over and sank into twelve feet of water but he continued to panic and endangered both their lives. With cool-headedness and determination, Mr. Sheppard turned on his back and allowed the boy to lie on his stomach as he carefully made his way ashore.