Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: September 24, 1984
• Invested on: March 15, 1985

On 7 September 1981, James Malcolm Watson participated in the rescue of three men following a plane crash near Baker Lake, Northwest Territories. Two members of 440 Transport and Rescue Squadron from Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, Sgt. William Fullbrook and Cpl. Bruce Koronko, parachuted onto the site of the crash and administered first-aid to the three men while awaiting the arrival of a helicopter. Dispatched to the scene almost at the end of his day shift as a commercial helicopter pilot, Mr. Watson took on board the two most seriously injured, who were rushed to hospital on landing. Tired, inexperienced in night flying or rescue techniques and using a helicopter unequipped for night flying, he chose to ignore the perils to his own life and went back to the scene of the accident, knowing that the remaining survivor might well succumb to exposure. Reading the instrument panel with a flashlight and guided by three flares fired from the ground, he landed his helicopter in high winds on the precarious, rocky surface. He then air-lifted the survivor and the two military paramedics back to Baker Lake. (Sgt. Fullbrook and Cpl. Koronko also received the Medal of Bravery for their part in the rescue).