Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: April 21, 1987
• Invested on: June 26, 1987

John Hall, M.B.
Firefighter Joseph Gregory Stojkiewicz, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On the afternoon of November 24, 1985, John Hall and Joseph Stojkiewicz saved a man who had fallen through the thin ice of Night Hawk Lake, Ontario. The man had been driving a snowmobile when the ice cracked and he and the machine were submerged. He was approximately 3 kilometres out on the lake and surrounded for about 300 metres by thin ice. An initial rescue attempt on the surface had failed when Mr. Hall arrived in his helicopter, a vehicle not intended for rescue operations. After a preliminary survey, he and Mr. Stojkiewicz proceeded to mount a rescue operation. While Mr. Stojkiewicz stood on the left skid gear of the helicopter, holding onto a seat belt with one hand, Mr. Hall manoeuvred the helicopter down, lowering the skid gear to the surface. The man had been submerged in the cold water for some 2 hours and was too frozen to aid his rescuers. Mr. Stojkiewicz was unable to keep his grip on the man the first time he reached out but, after Mr. Hall lowered the machine further, was able to grasp the man by the wrist and pull him out. He retained this grip for a substantial period while Mr. Hall hovered the machine towards solid ice. It was a delicate and dangerous manoeuvre as the off-balanced helicopter could easily have overturned. Once the man had been secured and placed inside the helicopter, he was flown to nearby Timmins for medical assistance.