Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: January 12, 1987
• Invested on: March 06, 1987

On the morning of January 4, 1986, a man driving a 5-tonne truck was headed across the ice bridge linking Ile du Grand Calumet and Campbell's Bay, Quebec, when the ice gave way under the weight of the vehicle. The truck and driver were quickly submerged. Mr. René Lemaire, a resident of Ile du Grand Calumet, who had witnessed the incident, ran to the rescue of the drowning man. The driver, exhausted by the struggle to get out of his truck, desperately tried to cling to the ice. On approaching the driver, Mr. Lemaire got down on his hands and knees and crawled across the ice, which was marked by a number of cracks. He grasped the driver by the shoulder and pulled him out of the icy water of the Ottawa River. Both men managed to get safely back to shore.