Meritorious Service Medal
Awarded on: 1995-02-24
Invested on: 1995-05-31
Denis Ouellet, M.S.M., Dolbeau, Que. (Posthumous)
Meritorious Service Medal (civil division)
A representative of the international co-operative agency Prodeva-Avions sans frontières, Mr. Ouellet played a key role in the April 1994 rescue of some fifty Canadian and Polish missionaries trapped in dangerous areas in Kigali, Rwanda. Using his ham radio, he managed to locate the missionaries in order to guide the peacekeeping forces to them. He also sheltered a number of missionaries in his apartment in Burundi until they could leave the country. Some time later, Mr. Ouellet was killed in a traffic accident while on his way to help refugees in northern Burundi.