Star of Courage

• Awarded on: March 18, 1985
• Invested on: September 27, 1985

Thirty-one-year-old Jose Eduardo Silva lost his life in an attempt to rescue a woman and her niece drowning in Lake Erie at Point Pelee National Park on the afternoon of 14 August 1983. The young girl and her aunt were swept into the open water by the current. On a Sunday outing with his wife and two children, Mr. Silva answered their desperate cries without hesitation. Though aware of the perils, he dove into the treacherous waters at the tip of the point where the undertow poses a danger to even the most competent swimmer. He exhausted himself and drowned in a vain but valiant struggle against the strong current.