Decorations for Bravery Ceremony

The Decorations for Bravery were created in 1972, to recognize people who risked their lives to try to save or protect the lives of others. The Cross of Valour (C.V.) recognizes acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril; the Star of Courage (S.C.) recognizes acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril; and the Medal of Bravery (M.B.) recognizes acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances.

On February 24, 2012, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presented 46 Decorations for Bravery, during a presentation ceremony at Rideau Hall.

On March 22, 2009, Kenneth Lehman, S.C., risked his life to rescue a man from an apartment fire, in Espanola, Ontario. Mr. Lehman was driving by the building when he noticed the fire. He pushed in the back door, only to be met by intense heat and thick, black smoke. Crawling, he felt his way around until he found an unconscious victim. Suddenly, an explosion went off in the apartment, forcing Mr. Lehman to quickly move the man out into the hallway. He then pulled the fire alarm and opened the main door to let others in to help evacuate other tenants. Although the victim suffered severe burns, he survived, thanks to Mr. Lehman’s courageous efforts that day.

On March 29, 2009, Michel Bérubé, M.B., rescued his older brother whose snowmobile had broken through the ice on the St-Maurice River, in the Haute-Mauricie region of Quebec. Mr. Bérubé and his brother had been riding on separate machines when the older man travelled onto thinner ice and fell in. As he tried to save his brother, Mr. Bérubé, too, fell into the deep water. He managed to calm his frantic brother enough so that he could push him up onto solid ice before pulling himself out. He dragged his brother, who had become unresponsive, up the river bank. Over the next few hours, Mr. Bérubé worked relentlessly to keep his brother warm; he was able to bring him to a cottage in the forest, where he called for help.

On November 29, 2008, Richard Kelly, M.B., Constable Scott Dargie, M.B., and Kevin Thomas, M.B., risked their lives in an effort to restrain a violent man, in Oshawa, Ontario. An armed intruder had entered Mr. Kelly’s house and attacked his wife and his two youngest sons. Mr. Kelly was stabbed several times as he tried to keep the man away from the other members of the family in the house. Despite his wounds, Mr. Kelly managed to grab the knife away from the attacker and throw it into the basement. He then stumbled outside, where he fell to the ground. Constable Dargie then arrived at the scene and was confronted by the attacker, who came at him with a hammer. Constable Dargie drew his gun and ordered the man to drop his weapon; but the deranged man ran inside another house and threatened to strike its elderly occupant. Constable Dargie followed him and fired two shots, successfully disabling the assailant. The constable then dragged the struggling man outside, where, with the help of Mr. Thomas, he was restrained. Sadly, the ordeal cost the lives of Mr. Kelly, his wife and one of their sons. The decoration awarded to the late Mr. Kelly was received by his sons, Messrs. Brandon Kelly and Riley Kelly (pictured).

On September 18, 2009, Steve Degrace, M.B., and Monique Gagnon, M.B. (pictured) rescued a man from a burning house, in St. Margarets, New Brunswick. The victim had attempted to extinguish a fire which had started in the kitchen, but the flames quickly spread to other rooms in the house. Upon noticing the smoke, Mr. Degrace and Ms. Gagnon ran to the house. Mr. Degrace twice entered the house but could not find anyone. Then he and Ms. Gagnon entered a third time and found a man in the kitchen. Flames were shooting out through the windows and thick, black smoke filled the house. As they grabbed the agitated victim and pulled him toward the exit, the man fell; with great difficulty, they were able to drag him outside. Sadly, the victim did not survive.

On September 23, 2009, while working as a dive team, Lieutenant André Bard, M.B., and Leading Seaman David Denman, M.B.(pictured) risked their lives to search for possible live ammunition in a pond, in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. An unknown number of grenades had been thrown into a large pond. One of the explosives had malfunctioned and was in an extremely dangerous state. Using a metal mine detector in the murky water, the dive team searched the bottom of the pond, where they found the unexploded grenade buried deep in the mud. The device was carried a safe distance away and detonated. Lieutenant Bard and Leading Seaman Denman continued their thorough search of the pond, finding and removing other weapon fragments. The decoration awarded to Lieutenant(N) Bard will be presented at a later date.

On May 23, 2007, Donald Gough, M.B., rescued an elderly man from a possible drowning in the Similkameen River, in Manning Park, British Columbia. The victim had lost control of his vehicle, which landed upside down in the middle of the river. The car suddenly flipped upright and became lodged on some rocks, allowing the victim to crawl out of his broken window and lean on the edge of the car door. Mr. Gough arrived and quickly took charge of the situation by directing other witnesses to different sections of the riverbank to keep the victim in sight. He drove back to his nearby office and returned with four lengths of fire hose tied together. Tying one end around his waist, Mr. Gough proceeded into the freezing water and, with great difficulty in the strong current, made his way to the barely conscious victim. Mr. Gough tied the hose around the victim’s chest, and called out to the others on shore to pull them in. In the end, Mr. Gough let go of the hose and allowed himself and the victim to be carried downstream, where they made it to shore. The hypothermic victim survived the ordeal.

On June 8, 2009, Lana Krieser, M.B., rescued an 11-year-old boy who was electrocuted during a school trip, in Clear Lake, Manitoba. While hiking on a trail, the boy and his friend noticed an orange glow coming from a bush. After finding a dead deer, the boys were preparing to leave when the victim slipped on the wet grass, fell to the ground and came in contact with a live hydro wire. His friend ran to get Ms. Krieser, who rushed to the scene to find the boy in convulsions and a small brush fire burning close by. Without any concern for her own safety, Ms. Krieser approached the boy and tried to move him, electrocuting herself in the process. She stepped back for a moment, then grabbed onto the boy’s clothing and managed to pull him several feet away until help arrived. Despite knowing the risks involved in moving the victim while he was still in contact with the power line, Ms. Krieser’s actions saved the boy’s life.