Star of Courage
Awarded on: 1986-01-27
Invested on: 1986-06-13
Shortly after midnight on December 18, 1984, Howard Richter saved a three-year-old boy who was trapped in the fire raging in his parents' home. When he arrived on the scene, Mr. Richter hurried to the back door, broke it in and went into the hallway leading to the child's room. The flames and intense heat forced him back. He immediately went around the house, found a ladder and, armed with a piece of wood, broke a window in the upstairs room. He heard the faint crying of the child. Blinded by thick smoke, he leaned inside and tried in vain to grab hold of the child, whose bed was under the window. He brushed away the broken glass and, without regard for the danger, climbed into the room, found the toddler, grabbed him by a leg and hoisted him out the window to the safety of his mother's arms. Flames completely engulfed the room moments after Mr. Richter had crawled outside.