John Joseph Thériault, M.B.
Pierre Thériault, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
The Thériault brothers saved a young woman who had fallen from an icy cliff near Bathurst, New Brunswick, on the evening of March 30, 1989. John Thériault, the resident of a nearby house, was alerted by the girl's sister and, with his brother Pierre, went to help the victim whom they found hanging onto a small tree protruding from an underlying ledge. Realizing that the girl was in danger of falling to a certain death, they proceeded to climb down the escarpment and, without benefit of a rope, slowly pulled each other to a spot beneath her. With the help of the newly arrived authorities, Pierre secured a rope around himself, was pulled up to the young woman, and tied her to himself. The two were pulled to safety while John carefully retraced his steps up the cliff.