Meritorious Service Medal

• Awarded on: June 22, 1999
• Invested on: September 10, 1999

R.C.M.P. Staff Sergeant James Charles Beaver, M.S.M., Gloucester, Ont.
R.C.M.P. Corporal Gilles Brunet, M.S.M., Orleans, Ont.
R.C.M.P. Constable Joseph Hervé Alain Millette, M.S.M., Regina, Sask.
R.C.M.P. Corporal Louis-Paul Woods, M.S.M., Nepean, Ont.
Meritorious Service Medal (civil division)

On October 26, 1994, S/Sgt. Beaver, Cst. Millette and Cpls. Brunet and Woods were performing a routine reconnaissance mission in Haiti when they came upon a road accident that had resulted in an overturned truck with many wounded passengers. Fuel spilling from the overturned truck further compounded the need for quick action and effective crowd control as a growing number of onlookers were smoking, posing a safety hazard to the victims and the rescuers. The four R.C.M.P. members assessed the situation and secured the scene. With no radio contact possible, two members were dispatched to a nearby hospital for medical help, only to return later to a growing traffic problem and still no emergency assistance. With medical supplies quickly dwindling, the members commandeered a flat-bed truck and loaded the most critically injured to be taken to the hospital. Throughout the ordeal, the four men displayed outstanding leadership and professionalism, and brought great credit to Canada.