Star of Courage
Awarded on: 1979-04-02
Invested on: 1979-09-21
Joseph Wendel Helfrick, S.C. (Posthumous)
Edward V. Leier, S.C. (Posthumous)
Star of Courage
Joseph Helfrick and Edward Leier, who had witnessed a robbery at their local church on 17 October 1976, were killed while pursuing the thieves. The robbers fled in a car and were chased at high speed for several kilometres by Mr. Helfrick and Mr. Leier in two separate cars. Though fired on by the thieves they managed to block the path of the escape car while trying to recover the church money, were senselessly killed by the gunmen. Both bodies were discovered by the roadside, and on the following day the criminals were apprehended.