Star of Courage
Awarded on: 1983-12-05
Invested on: 1984-06-22
With resolve and courage rare in one so young, fourteen-year-old Brigitte Boudreault of Sept-Iles, Quebec, saved a child from drowning in a notoriously dangerous stretch of the Rivière aux Rochers, near Port-Cartier, Quebec. On the morning of 25 July 1982, two young girls were playing on large rocks at the river's edge when one of them suddenly slipped into the icy water. As the current swept her toward the St. Lawrence, Brigitte followed along the shore and, although not a good swimmer, entered the fast-flowing water. Pausing to rest on her way to the seven-year-old child, Brigitte found herself unable to touch bottom and realized that she too was in danger. Hesitating for only a moment, she decided to continue, reaching the young victim before she disappeared beneath the surface. In the struggle to retain a hold on the child and keep her head up, Brigitte was nearing exhaustion but she persisted, bringing her close enough to shore for others to assist. Brigitte, by this time completely tired out, was herself pulled from the water.