Star of Courage

• Awarded on: July 16, 1984
• Invested on: November 09, 1984

On 2 April 1983, with little regard for his own safety, Terrance Allan Dixon participated in the rescue of a man and two women from certain death following a plane crash 75 km north-east of Vancouver. Members of 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron from Canadian Forces Base Comox had located the three individuals on the snow-covered ledge of a cliff-face. They had spent the night in a makeshift shelter in sub-zero temperatures; it was imperative that they be removed that day to prevent their succumbing to exposure. Recovery of the survivors was impossible for the large Armed Forces helicopter. A civilian pilot inexperienced in rescue techniques, Mr. Dixon volunteered to attempt to reach the survivors with three military rescue specialists in his small, but powerful helicopter, in spite of the deteriorating weather conditions and the use of an untested procedure with a jury-rigged apparatus. Battling severe downdrafts and gusting winds, on three occasions Mr. Dixon maintained a hover with the rotor blades centimetres from the cliff-face, enabling the rescue technicians' recovery of the victims. The skill and courage of Mr. Dixon were the keys to this successful rescue operation.