René Lemaire, M.B. (posthumous)
Medal of Bravery
On June 5, 2005, 39-year-old René Lemaire lost his life while trying to rescue his seven-year-old son from drowning in the Ottawa River, in Île-du-Grand-Calumet, Quebec. Mr. Lemaire was fishing with his three sons when the young victim slipped off the dock. Although he could not swim, Mr. Lemaire jumped into the four-metre-deep water but disappeared under the surface and drowned before he could save his son. Witnesses who had heard the shouting boys were able to pull the young victim to safety, but not his father, whose body was recovered by the authorities the next day.