Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: October 31, 1997
• Invested on: May 15, 1998

On April 15, 1996, John Gray rescued a five-year-old girl from drowning in the Muskoka River at Bracebridge, Ontario. Mr. Gray was playing basketball with his grandson when he was alerted by a neighbour that a child had fallen into the freezing spring waters. Still wearing his winter parka, he swam some 10 metres out to the little girl. He placed her on his shoulder and swam back towards the closest of two docks. Mr. Gray grabbed onto the end of it but despite his best effort was unable to resist the force of the current and the two were swept away. As he floated by the second dock, 50 metres downstream, Mr. Gray managed to hold onto it. Exhausted, he used the dock to steady himself and climbed over the ice at the shoreline, where his neighbour took the child.