Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: April 6, 1981
• Invested on: June 19, 1981

Robert Cree, M.B.
Josephat Trottier, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

Robert Cree, and Joséphat Trottier aged 78, saved a man from drowning at the Baie des Indiens on April 8, 1980. The man was fishing on the ice when he fell through, some 60 metres from shore. Mr. Cree ran to the rescue from his nearby house, waded through the icy water for some 10 metres, stepped on the fragmenting and drifting surface and on reaching the drowning man, held a plank to him to hold on to. He then went back to assist Mr. Trottier who was struggling to rush a rowboat to the scene. They hauled it onto the ice and Mr. Cree made his way again to the fisherman. However, the latter being by then too cold and exhausted to help himself, Mr. Cree pulled him into the boat and took him to the safety of the shore.