• Awarded on: July 31, 2000

On 24 June 1994, Major McComber was the Chief Logistics Officer for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) when he received a distress call from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC). Heavy fighting in Kigali had resulted in the Red Cross receiving more than 600 casualties and the hospital generator was out of diesel fuel, making it impossible for the doctors to continue with surgery. Major McComber volunteered to deliver the necessary fuel. When he arrived at the hospital, he found access to the generator blocked by wounded civilians and two truckloads of Tutsis waiting for authority to move through the front lines. During the following four hours, while under mortar, small arms and machine gun fire, Maj McComber helped move the wounded and completed the refuelling of the generator. Once the shelling and small arms fire ended, he helped escort the Tutsis through the front lines to safety. Major McComber’s dedication and disregard for his own safety resulted in the saving of countless lives.