Meritorious Service Decorations - Military Division
Meritorious Service Medal
Awarded on: 1995-03-10
Invested on: 1995-05-31
In early November 1993, Corporal Gonin was a member of the squadron sent to the hospitals in Drin and Bakovici, in Bosnia, to protect and assist patients abandoned by the civilian hospital staff and nurses as a result of increased fighting in the area. Corporal Gonin took charge of the treatment room in the hospital in Bakovici. Despite his limited medical knowledge, he devoted all his energies to providing the best care possible for 355 patients until the arrival of UN medical staff. The enthusiasm, initiative and self-sacrifice that Corporal Gonin demonstrated in his efforts to tend to the patients in his charge were immediately noted by the military medical staff from other contingents, earning their admiration and respect.