Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: October 5, 1987
• Invested on: December 11, 1987

At 7 p.m. on March 26, 1986, Jack Bauer saved a young girl from drowning in the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta. The girl had been walking her dog alongside the partially frozen river when the animal ran out onto the ice and fell in. She followed to attempt its rescue and also broke through the ice. Mr. Bauer, in his house some distance away, heard her screams for help and decided to investigate. As it was very dark outside, it took him some time to locate the source of the cries, but eventually he spotted the dog some 50 m. from shore. He quickly ran down the riverbank, uprooted a sapling 7 m. long and grabbed a stick with which to test the firmness of the ice. Carefully, he made his way out towards the open water, lying down flat on the ice when he reached the slushy part. He extended the sapling towards the girl and instructed her to grab hold of it. Then, he pulled the tree back towards him until he was able to catch hold of the girl and pull her onto the ice. He also pulled out the dog. Once they had reached the firm ice by crawling, he stood up and carried the girl to shore, running to the nearest house to call for medical assistance.