Star of Courage

• Awarded on: September 8, 1994
• Invested on: December 09, 1994

On January 30, 1994, Mr. McPeck rescued a boy from the Thames River in London, Ontario. While walking his dog, Mr. McPeck saw two children struggling in the water near the opposite bank. He ran across a bridge and, passing his house on the way, told his wife to call 9-1-1. At the river's edge, he could see only one boy above water, clinging to a fallen tree. He crawled along the tree as far as possible, jumped into the icy waters, and grabbed the child. The two were swept a few metres away but Mr. McPeck was able to swim back to the tree. Exhausted, he pushed the boy onto the ice and pulled himself out. A police officer arrived and Mr. McPeck pushed the child to him across the ice. Unfortunately, the other child had drowned.