Meritorious Service Cross
- Awarded on: March 10, 1995
- Invested on: May 31, 1995
Rank: Sergeant
In November 1993, Sergeant Stevenson led a ten-person patrol to provide security and assistance to the Drin and Bakovici psychiatric hospitals in Bosnia-Hercegovina, directly in the path of the advancing Croatian army. The civilian staff had hastily evacuated, locking the 530 long-care, mentally and physically handicapped patients in their rooms. Conditions were pitiful, with no central heating or electricity. The vast majority of patients, both children and adults, were incontinent and required spoon feeding. Led by Sergeant Stevenson, the small patrol took over total responsibility, maintaining both defence and humanitarian support, even as fighting swept to the edges of the hospital grounds. Sergeant Stevenson's actions and leadership exemplify a principal United Nations goal in Bosnia, that of care and assistance to the innocent victims of war.
