In the small hours of 26 June 1982, OS. Eric Brown, in a fine display of initiative and cool- headedness, saved two young men from a fire which gutted his home. The fire broke out while he was at home on leave at his mother's residence. After awakening his brother, who escaped by a window, OS. Brown rushed downstairs where three of his brother's friends were sleeping. He found two youths in a daze and led them to the stairwell leading to the first floor. Determined to reach another in a rear bedroom, he moved through dense smoke, found the young man unconscious on the bed and carried him out over his shoulder. On approaching the stairs he saw one of the youths on the floor. Realizing that the seriousness of the fire would prevent a second trip, he dragged one with one hand while bearing the full weight of the other, reaching the outside with both as the flames engulfed the house.