Star of Courage
Awarded on: 1972-08-24
Invested on: 1973-11-30
Edward Pruss, S.C.
Star of Courage
On October 14, 1968 a light aircraft crashed some 2,000 feet up a mountain side near the British- Columbia-Alaska border. A rescue team lowered from a helicopter attempted, without success, to reach the pilot. The following morning, Edward Pruss, a helicopter pilot from Calgary, hovered over the scene while a rope was lowered to the injured man who was lifted from his precarious perch and conveyed safely to the base of the mountain. In order to effect the rescue, Mr. Pruss was obliged to hover with the blades of the helicopter less than four feet from the rock face. A gust of wind might easily have upset the equilibrium of the machine with disastrous consequences. It was only through the courageous and skilful efforts of Edward Pruss that the rescue was accomplished.