Medal of Bravery
Awarded on: 1984-02-20
Invested on: 1984-07-09
On 30 September 1982, James Randolph Cobb rescued two boys from drowning in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. A van accidentally rolled into the water with the boys inside. Mr. Cobb witnessed the mishap and saw the driver, a non-swimmer, clinging frantically to the passenger door, unable to pull the children out. As the van floated away, Mr. Cobb, though a poor swimmer himself, dove off the wharf, swam to the vehicle and entered through the open back doors. Inside the partially submerged cabin he found one boy under the dashboard and the other, with his head barely above water, grasping the front seat. He seized them at once, handed one to his father, and with the other under one arm struggled through the icy water toward the wharf where another man took the child. By this time tired and cold, Mr. Cobb returned to the sinking vehicle. He grabbed the other boy to relieve the father, then helped the latter onto the roof of the van and remained with them until the arrival of a small boat.