Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: April 12, 2001
• Invested on: December 06, 2001

Shaul Petel, M.B.
Yonatan S. Petel, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On July 22, 1997, Yonatan Petel and his father, Shaul Petel, risked their lives to save a 12-year-old girl and her father from drowning in the Atlantic Ocean at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S.A. Yonatan was walking along the beach when he heard a woman shouting for help, pointing at the ocean. He immediately alerted his father and together, Yonatan and Shaul Petel ran into the rough waters and swam in the direction of the drowning swimmers, reaching the child first. As Yonatan was repeatedly pulled under the surface by the panic-stricken girl, Shaul took her on his back and, struggling against the fierce undertow and high waves, brought her to shore. Meanwhile, shouting for his father's assistance, Yonatan swam out to the girl's father floating face down in the high surf and reached him some 20 metres away. Unable to haul the unconscious victim in, he returned to shallower waters, then swam back with a flotation device and gave it to his father who, although exhausted, had returned to the water to help. Sadly, in spite of Shaul and Yonatan's efforts, the victim died in the hospital a few days later.