Meritorious Service Decorations - Military Division
Meritorious Service Cross
Awarded on: 1995-07-18
Invested on: 1995-09-15
In 1994, while serving as Military Assistant to the Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda, Major Beardsley faced armed and hostile civilian crowds, as well as belligerent forces, to rescue Rwandans, Canadians and others. He twice entered a riotous crowd to save a family from being mobbed, after convincing rebel soldiers that their forcible intervention would breach the terms of the accord that stationed them in the capital. He also braved violent crowds to escort the Force Commander to headquarters, to rescue a doctor and nurse who were being assaulted, and to take a man with a severe machete wound to the hospital. After the assassination of the President of Rwanda and the start of the massacres, he coordinated and led the rescues of numerous Canadian and foreign nationals. In an environment of wanton destruction and killing, Major Beardsley's calm and timely actions met the highest professional standards and brought great credit to himself, the Canadian Forces, and Canada.