Decorations for Bravery Ceremony

The Governor General was invited to cut a cake in honour of the 40th anniversary of the Decorations for Bravery. He is pictured with the recipients who were honoured during the ceremony.

On August 28, 2004, firefighters Darrell Black (pictured), Michael Black, Daniel Glanville, Brent Kirchner and Benoit Ladouceur, rescued a man who was trapped inside a silo, near Woodstock, Ontario. The victim was chest-deep in solidified cement dust at the bottom of a narrow trench. Any movement could result in his sinking deeper into the moving sands below. One at a time, the firefighters were harnessed and lowered into the confined space. Suspended by a rope rescue system, they worked diligently and carefully, using a jackhammer to break up the debris around the victim and vacuum it out of the silo. During this process, they were positioned directly under an outcropping of unstable solidified cement dust weighing nearly 15 tonnes. The rescue operation took nearly 13 hours before the victim was freed and brought to safety.

On February 7, 2009, Eldred Burden Jr. (pictured) and Christopher Larkham rescued a friend whose snowmobile had broken through the ice of the Alexis River, in Mill Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. When the rescuers heard that their friend was in the water, they got on their machines and ventured out in the dark, on dangerous ice, to locate him. They conducted several sweeps along the river before they found him clinging to the ice near some open water. Mr. Burden carefully made his way over to the victim and grabbed him by the hand. After numerous attempts, he finally managed to pull the man out. Mr. Larkham then grabbed both men and pulled them to safer ice. The decoration awarded to Mr. Larkham will be presented at a future ceremony.

On November 19, 2008, Daniel Chrusch, Vincent Fontaine and Candace Smith (pictured) rescued a man from a burning house, in Pine Falls, Manitoba. Ms. Smith, Mr. Fontaine and his elderly father, who lived in the house, woke up to find their living room on fire and their exit blocked. Mr. Fontaine climbed out of his bedroom window, but unfortunately, his father had fallen unconscious in the hallway and Ms. Smith was trapped in her bedroom. Their neighbour, Mr. Chrusch, entered the house and, after withdrawing several times because of the heat and smoke, called out to the victims to come towards his voice. Crawling beneath the smoke, Ms. Smith grabbed the elderly victim and dragged him towards Messrs. Chrusch and Fontaine, who helped bring him outside.

On June 30, 2010, RCMP Constable Shaun De Grandpré rescued two individuals from the Arctic Ocean, in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. Called to the scene, Constable De Grandpré arrived to see a man and a woman struggling in the water approximately 100 metres from shore. Removing his equipment, he ran into the freezing water, swam out to the intoxicated couple and started pulling them towards the shore. Once she felt the ground beneath her feet, the woman was able to make her own way to safety. Constable De Grandpré had to keep a strong hold on the man, however, who resisted the constable’s efforts to help him.

On January 29, 2009, Detective Constable Brad Fraser, of the Victoria Police Department, and Jacqueline Vanderwood (pictured) rescued an injured woman from a damaged vehicle following a head-on collision, near Valemount, British Columbia. Detective Constable Fraser and Ms. Vanderwood were driving by when they spotted the wrecked cars: smoke billowed from the engines and fuel leaked onto the pavement. The occupants of the first vehicle had not survived the collision, but the three passengers in the second car were still alive. While other passersby pried open the front doors to retrieve the driver and front passenger, Detective Constable Fraser crawled through a small opening of the rear door to reach a woman in the back seat. Fearing that the fuel could catch fire at any moment, Detective Constable Fraser quickly untied the woman’s seat belt and, with the help of Ms. Vanderwood, carried her to safety. All three victims of the second vehicle survived.

On May 19, 2010, Aline L’Écuyer Lacroix, then 92 years old, was instrumental in the evacuation of the residents of a burning retirement home, in Gatineau, Quebec. Ms. L’Écuyer Lacroix, who lived at the residence, noticed smoke coming from a community room across the hall. She found that a fire had started in the room and was growing in intensity. Ms. L’Écuyer Lacroix closed the doors to the room and, despite her limited mobility, made her way door-to-door in the smoke-filled hallway to alert everyone. Thanks to her actions, all residents of the home were safely evacuated. Ms. L'Écuyer Lacroix is the eldest recipient of this honour to date.

The Governor General presented 44 Medals of Bravery at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, on October 12, 2012. This ceremony marked the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Decorations for Bravery.

"What is so remarkable about your acts of bravery is that they were the actions of real people", said His Excellency. "Each of you demonstrated our ability as human beings to transcend the instinct for self-preservation, and to act selflessly to help others—whatever the risk. Your actions remind us that caring for others is an act of bravery, and that you do not need to be a hero to help someone in need."