Carnegie Medals awarded to 15 for extraordinary acts of heroism

Posted on by Carnegie Hero Fund

PITTSBURGH, PA, DECEMBER 22, 2003—In its fifth and final award announcement of 2003, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission today named 15 individuals from throughout the United States and Canada as recipients of the CARNEGIE MEDAL. The bronze medal is given to persons who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. Four of the awardees died in the performance of their heroic acts.

The heroes announced today bring to 98 the number of persons honored in 2003 and to 8,764 the total number of persons who have been recognized by the Commission since the Pittsburgh-based Fund’s inception in 1904. Commission President Mark Laskow stated that each of the awardees or their survivors will receive also a grant of $3,500. Throughout the 99 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, $26.8 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.

The awardees are:

Resumes of the acts follow. To nominate someone for the CARNEGIE MEDAL, write the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, 436 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1101, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, or call 1-800-447-8900 (toll free). Fuller information on the CARNEGIE MEDAL and the history of the CARNEGIE HERO FUND COMMISSION can be found at www.carnegiehero.org


Jamie L. Inman, deceased
Pellville, Kentucky
Jamie L. Inman rescued Jessie L. and Nathan S. Inman and died attempting to rescue Hannah C. Hutchinson from burning, Pellville, Kentucky, February 8, 2002. Jessie, 10; Nathan, 1, and Hannah, 3, were in a bedroom of a mobile home after fire broke out in the adjacent living room at night. Ms. Inman, 24, medical assistant, who was the mother of Nathan and Hannah and the stepmother of Jessie, was in the home’s master bedroom, as was her husband. Discovering the fire, Ms. Inman and her husband fled the mobile home after deteriorating conditions precluded their reaching the children’s bedroom. They responded to a point outside one of that bedroom’s windows, which the husband broke out. He then lifted Ms. Inman to the window, where she reached inside for Jessie and pulled her from the structure. Lifted back to the window, Ms. Inman entered the bedroom, picked up Nathan, and handed him outside. With fire conditions worsening in the bedroom, Ms. Inman collapsed. Firefighters found her body there, with Hannah’s nearby; both had died of smoke inhalation. Jessie and Nathan were hospitalized for treatment of extensive burns.
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Randy J. Marsman
Pentwater, Michigan
Mark H. Terryn
White Cloud, Michigan
Randy J. Marsman and Mark H. Terryn saved Duane R. Ely from burning, Ludington, Michigan, July 22, 2002. Ely, 52, remained in the driver’s seat of his pickup truck after an accident in which the truck was struck in the rear by another pickup and propelled from the highway onto the grassy shoulder. Ely’s truck had burst into flames at its rear, and spilled gasoline burned on the ground around it and on the highway. Several motorists, including Marsman, 49, builder, and Terryn, also 49, emergency room technician, stopped at the scene. Marsman approached the passenger side of Ely’s truck and attempted to open the door, but he found it jammed. He then climbed atop the hood of the burning vehicle and stomped on the windshield, until a large piece of it dislodged. Terryn joined him on the hood and, having provided towels to lay on the broken glass, reached through the windshield opening with Marsman for Ely but found him stuck. After Marsman entered the cab to his waist and freed Ely, he and Terryn pulled Ely, head first, through the windshield opening and onto the hood as flames from the rear of the truck advanced toward the cab. Marsman and Terryn carried Ely from the truck. Ely required hospital treatment for neck and back injuries, and Marsman received a cut on his forehead, from which he recovered.
76333-8751 / 76334-8752
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Éric Fortier
Gatineau, Quebec
Éric Fortier rescued Alain Parenteau and Patricia Doyon from an attacking polar bear, Kimmirut, Nunavut, July 27, 2001. Parenteau, 31, and Ms. Doyon, 25, were camping in a subarctic territorial park on Baffin Island when a polar bear slashed their tent as they slept. They attempted to flee, but the bear attacked them, taking Parenteau to the ground and mauling him. Fortier, 32, orthodontist, responded from his nearby tent and threw a large rock at the bear. The bear ceased its attack on Parenteau but turned on Ms. Doyon and began to maul her. Armed only with a pocketknife, Fortier charged the bear and stabbed it three times about the neck before the bear ceased its attack on Ms. Doyon and ambled away. The group boarded their canoes and set off for the nearest settlement, seven miles away. Parenteau and Ms. Doyon were taken by helicopter to a hospital, where they were detained for treatment of their injuries, Parenteau requiring surgery. Authorities searched for the bear without success.
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Nathan Michael Grube
Wind Gap, Pennsylvania
Nathan Michael Grube helped to rescue William S. Smith, Jr., from burning, Brunswick, Georgia, September 21, 2002. Smith, 52, was in the left front seat of a six-passenger airplane that a student pilot was attempting to land at an airport. The plane struck the ground just short of the runway and burst into flames at its front end. Both wings, which held the plane’s fuel tanks, and the plane’s only door, on the right side of the fuselage, were torn off in the accident, in which Smith lost consciousness. The pilot released his and Smith’s safety belt, then stepped from the wreckage. Grube, 23, chef, was driving near the airport and saw the burning plane just after the crash. He immediately parked and with others ran to the scene, approaching the plane on its right side. Despite flames on the plane’s nose and wings and in the cockpit, Grube leaned into the plane, his jacket placed over his head for protection, and grasped Smith. He and the pilot, who had returned to the plane and also reached inside for Smith, then pulled Smith from the wreckage. They and others carried him away from the plane, the front half of which was shortly engulfed by flames. Smith was hospitalized for treatment of severe burns and other injuries.
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Henry Balangue, Jr.
Porterville, California
Henry Balangue, Jr., rescued John P. Oldridge from burning, Porterville, California, August 4, 2002. Oldridge, 66, was inside the 36-foot-long trailer in which he lived, after fire erupted in the trailer’s bedroom. Balangue, 39, landscaper, was driving by when he saw smoke rising from the scene. He stopped there and learned that Oldridge remained inside the burning trailer. After forcing open one of its doors, Balangue entered the trailer, in which dense smoke precluded any visibility except at floor level. He heard Oldridge and moved toward the sound of his voice. Balangue entered the bedroom, most of which was aflame, and found Oldridge on the floor. He dragged Oldridge toward the door, but once in the living room, Oldridge became caught. Balangue fled the trailer for air, then re-entered, freed Oldridge, and pulled him outside. Oldridge was taken to the hospital for treatment of severe burns, and he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Balangue also required hospital treatment, for a burn to his shoulder, and he recovered.
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Harold Terry
Flint, Michigan
Harold Terry saved Jamal L. Jackson from burning, Flint, Michigan, July 29, 2002. Jamal, 8, and his brother were in the basement of their grandparents’ home after fire erupted in the kitchen, on the ground floor, at night and blocked access to the basement stairs. Men broke out a basement window and pulled the brother from the house, but they could not see Jamal. Terry, 25, was one of two state police officers who responded to the scene. When he learned that Jamal remained inside the basement, he entered it through the window, feet first, and dropped to the floor. Terry used a flashlight, but dense smoke limited visibility to only a foot. Jamal cried at first, and Terry crawled toward the source of that sound. He found Jamal, who was then unconscious, about 12 feet into the basement. Grasping and pulling Jamal, Terry crawled backward to the wall containing the window. He stood there and handed Jamal through the window to the other officer before climbing out of the basement through the same window. Jamal was hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation, and he recovered.
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Chris A. Cole
Lewis Run, Pennsylvania
Chris A. Cole saved Michael G. Bradley from a possible explosion, Bradford, Pennsylvania, March 12, 2002. Bradley, 36, was the driver of a tractor-trailer that was hauling 7,000 gallons of gasoline when the vehicle overturned onto its right ride while attempting to negotiate a turn. The vehicle fell against a guide rail, and a large quantity of gasoline began to escape from it as its engine continued to run. Bradley emerged through the window of the driver’s door but, seriously injured, was unable to leave the cab. Driving nearby, Cole, 29, laborer, witnessed the accident. He parked, ran through the escaping gasoline to the rig, and mounted the guide rail at the tractor. Cole pulled Bradley the rest of the way through the window and went to the ground with him, then, wet with gasoline, helped Bradley walk away from the vehicle, the engine of which soon stopped, on its own. Bradley was hospitalized a week for treatment of hip injuries. Cole was treated at a hospital for first-degree chemical burns to his feet and abrasions. He recovered.
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Lorene R. Cash, deceased
Hueytown, Alabama
Lorene R. Cash died attempting to rescue Bobby L. Cash from burning, Hueytown, Alabama, July 23, 2002. Cash, 59, who suffered a disability that rendered him virtually immobile, was in the living room of his one-story house when fire broke out in that room. Alerted to the fire, his mother, Ms. Cash, 86, responded quickly to the house from her home next door. Firefighters arriving within minutes found Cash’s body on the floor of the dining room, which adjoined the living room, and his mother’s nearby. The positioning of the bodies, not far from the house’s back door, led them to conclude that Ms. Cash was effecting her son’s rescue when she was felled. Both had died of smoke inhalation.
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Ronald Joseph Crawford, deceased
Hamilton, Ontario
Ronald Joseph Crawford died rescuing a man from assault, Hamilton, Ontario, August 4, 2002. At night, the 48-year-old man who owned and operated a sandwich shop was confronted in the kitchen area of the shop by a man, who, armed with a knife, demanded money. A scuffle ensued between them, the shop owner shouting. Crawford, 42, a friend of the owner and frequent visitor to the shop, had been in the shop’s back room when the assailant entered. Crawford immediately responded to the kitchen, approached the assailant, and threw punches at him. The assailant stabbed Crawford in the chest then fled the shop. Crawford collapsed to the floor. He was taken by rescue personnel to the hospital, where he died of his wound, which was to the heart.
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Robert E. Shows
Rittman, Ohio
Robert E. Shows helped to save Gary D. Miller and Stella B. Hohne from burning, Rittman, Ohio, July 8, 2002. Miller, 55, and his mother-in-law Ms. Hohne, 84, were in second-floor bedrooms of Miller’s house after fire broke out on a deck at the rear of the structure at night. A police officer on duty in the neighborhood, Shows, 31, discovered the fire and, joined by another officer, broke into the house through its front door to alert any occupants. Learning from Miller that Ms. Hohne was in her bedroom, Shows went upstairs to that room. He picked Ms. Hohne up, but dense smoke, which rendered visibility nil, and intense heat precluded their escaping down the stairs. The other officer went to the front of house, where he shouted for Shows to use the bedroom window. Shows opened the window, removed the screen, and climbed onto the roof of the front porch. Miller then handed Ms. Hohne out to him before exiting the house himself. Firefighters arrived within minutes and removed Ms. Hohne and Miller from the roof, Shows following. Ms. Hohne, Miller, and Shows were all taken to the hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation.
76272-8760
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Eric C. Hurst, deceased
Ventura, California
Eric C. Hurst died attempting to save Jamie Christenson from drowning, Ely, Minnesota, July 30, 2002. Despite wearing two life jackets, Jamie, 17, became caught in the boil of water at the base of Upper Basswood Falls, on the Basswood River, while on a wilderness canoeing expedition with a camp group. Hurst, 24, the canoe guide for another group from the camp that was at the scene, was alerted from nearby. Also wearing two life jackets, Hurst entered the river and waded toward Jamie. He too became caught in the boil and, with Jamie, remained there for several minutes, despite efforts to free them by members of their groups and a scouting party that responded to the scene. Then propelled from the boil, Jamie and Hurst were removed from the river by the others, and resuscitation was attempted. They had drowned.
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Richard D. Egan
Lockport, Illinois
Richard D. Egan rescued Linda M. Davis from burning, Lockport, Illinois, July 29, 2002. Ms. Davis, 36, was unconscious in the driver’s seat of a sport utility vehicle after an accident at night in which the vehicle left the roadway, broke through a metal fence, and caught fire. Egan, 46, telephone service technician who lived several hundred feet away, heard the crash and ran to the scene. Flames were issuing from the vehicle’s passenger side and from that area of its interior, and a section of the fence lay against the driver’s side. With assistance from a passerby, Egan moved the fence away from the vehicle to gain access to the driver’s door. He then opened the door and leaned inside. Ms. Davis’s clothing had caught fire by then, and Egan patted out those flames with his hands. He seized Ms. Davis about the arms and pulled her head first from the vehicle, then dragged her away. Flames destroyed the vehicle. Ms. Davis was hospitalized for treatment of extensive burns, and Egan was treated at a hospital emergency room for first- and second-degree burns to both hands. He recovered.
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Mark L. Adams
Central Point, Oregon
Daniel Lloyd Cline
Medford, Oregon
Mark L. Adams and Daniel Lloyd Cline saved Elizabeth L. Wetherington from burning, Central Point, Oregon, March 18, 2002. Ms. Wetherington, 41, remained in the cab of her pickup truck after an accident in which the truck left the roadway, came to rest on its driver’s side, and caught fire at its front end and along its exposed underside. Approaching on the same road, Adams, 40, lathe operator, saw flames, then stopped at the scene. He stepped into the bed of the truck, broke out its rear window, and reached inside for Ms. Wetherington but found that she was caught in the wreckage. After retreating for air, Adams in repeated attempts tried to free Ms. Wetherington but was unsuccessful. While Adams then left to obtain a garden hose from a nearby residence, Cline, 21, contractor, who also had stopped at the scene after seeing the flames, approached the pickup and reached through the back window from the bed. He too was unsuccessful in freeing Ms. Wetherington, and he withdrew from the vehicle for relief from the intense heat. On a subsequent attempt, Cline pulled Ms. Wetherington by the arm and freed her, then removed her through the window to safety. Adams returned to the truck and assisted Cline and others in moving her farther away. Ms. Wetherington was taken to the hospital, where she was treated for injuries sustained in the accident. She was not burned. Adams also was treated at the hospital, for smoke inhalation, and he recovered.
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