Star of Courage

• Awarded on: September 11, 1978
• Invested on: August 22, 1992

Johny Nakoolak, S.C.
Antonius Wilhelmus Van Eindhoven, S.C.
Star of Courage
Daniel Jack Bily, M.B.
John Groeb, M.B.
Robert Harron, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On the night of 27 December 1976, Antonius van Eindhoven led a party to rescue an electronic technician who was lost in a blizzard some three miles from Coral Harbour Airport in the Northwest Territories. Though the men had word that the storm would continue for twenty-four hours, they decided to brave winds up to fifty-two knots and set out in a Bombardier. For most of the time Mr. van Eindhoven and Johny Nakoolak walked in front to guide the vehicle. The victim was found more than an hour later, suffering from the extreme cold. On the journey back the wind stiffened, and the vehicle was abandoned; but with encouragement from Mr. van Eindhoven, the men persisted. He and Mr. Nakoolak continued to lead at the cost of severe frostbite on their wrists, and the group arrived at the airport after some two and one-half hours of exposure under severest conditions.