Star of Courage

• Awarded on: January 3, 1975
• Invested on: September 22, 1975

Kari Joronen, S.C. (posthumous), Victoria, B.C.
Victor Solomatenko, S.C., Toronto, Ont.
Star of Courage

In the spring of 1973, a boat in which a lone fisherman had been adrift for days on Lake Superior was the object of an intense search. On May 29, the boat was located by the crew of an aircraft who requested that a helicopter be sent to effect to rescue. Victor Solomatenko, accompanied by Kari Joronen, decided to undertake the mission. At the scene, pilot Solomatenko hovered over the boat while Kari Joronen powered a length of rope to the victim, but the latter, exhausted from exposure, failed to grasp it. Tying a loop in the rope, Mr. Joronen climbed out of the helicopter cabin and stood on the flat while the pilot brought the machine down closer to the boat. Suddenly the aircraft dropped into the waves and overturned. Mr. Solomatenko managed to hold onto the wreckage where he was found several hours later but tragically his partner in the undertaking and the fisherman were lost.