Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: April 18, 2002
• Invested on: December 09, 2002

In the early hours of September 23, 1999, Patrick Barry saved his father from drowning when Hurricane Gertrude hit the village of St. Brides, in Newfoundland and Labrador. Patrick had gone to the wharf with his father and his brother at the height of the storm to secure their fishing boat. They had just finished tying it to other vessels when a gigantic wave broke over the protective stone wall and swept them into the debris and diesel-fuel-covered water. Patrick and his brother managed to reach the wharf by climbing onto some vessels that were tied together, but their father found himself some fifteen metres out, desperately hanging onto a cable and clinging to the back of a boat. Although he could not swim, Patrick ran across the tied-up vessels and jumped into the raging sea. Holding onto another rope, he made his way to his father's side and tied it around his waist. Both men were then pulled out of the freezing water by other villagers who had come to assist.