Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: January 17, 1983
• Invested on: March 04, 1983

Robert Joseph Collette, M.B.
James William Donovan, M.B.
John Douglas White, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On 25 April 1981, Robert Joseph Collette, James William Donovan and John White, all of the Moncton region, determined through a rifle scope that three curious objects a kilometre away on the mud flats of Petit-codiac River were actually children stuck in the mire. Knowing that the tide was rising rapidly, the three men set out toward the children, picking up driftwood on the way. En route they had to cross fissures filling with water, and areas of deep mud. Close to the victims, where the mud was most dangerous, they made a walkway of the accumulated driftwood. With immense difficulty they pulled the children free of the sucking mud and carried them to shore. Within minutes the area was completely under water.