The Carnegie Hero Fund is honored to recognize 16 civilians, including four young adults, who risked serious injury or death to save others in acts of extraordinary heroism.
Each individual will receive the Carnegie Medal, North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism.
Among those saved by this quarter’s Carnegie Medal recipients were eight children, including an 18-month-old whose father was threatening to drop her from an overpass 40 feet above a parking lot, two sisters trapped inside their burning home, and a 7-year-old trapped under a capsized boat in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. With this announcement, the Carnegie Medal has been awarded to 10,387 individuals since the inception of the Pittsburgh-based Fund in 1904.
Each of the recipients or their survivors will receive a financial grant. Throughout the 119 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, nearly $45 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.
The awardees are:
James G. David, deceased, Saginaw, Michigan
Christine Dawn King, Bensalem, Pennsylvania
Jonathon Baez, Mesa, Arizona
Sean Patrick Kalletta, Suffolk County, New York
Lloyd Muldrow, Jacksonville, North Carolina
Jordan B. Kurtzer, Lincoln, Nebraska
Kendall Reyes, Palm Beach, Florida
Tyler Badet, San Diego
Joseph D. Donnell, Kamas, Utah
Robert M. Wilson, Jr., Glendale, Wisconsin
Andrew Reischl, Glendale, Wisconsin
Anthony Diehl, deceased, Beavercreek, Ohio
David P. Duffey, Midway, Pennsylvania
Stephen D. Rhodes, Houma, Louisiana
Jasmine Morris, West Des Moines, Iowa
JaCora Lashale Morris, West Des Moines, Iowa
To nominate someone for the Carnegie Medal, complete a nomination form online or write to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, 436 Seventh Ave., Suite 1101, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. More information on the Carnegie Medal and the history of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission can be found at carnegiehero.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
James G. David, deceased
A 62-year-old grandfather drowned July 16, 2022, while attempting to save his 4-year-old grandson from the same fate in the Saginaw Bay off of Essexville, Michigan. Kolton R. David, who was wearing a life jacket, fell off the back of a fishing boat into the bay. His father, who was also aboard the boat, jumped off the boat after him. Kolton was panicking and repeatedly attempted to climb onto his dad, who struggled in the water. James G. David, a sales associate of Saginaw, Michigan, entered the water and swam 200 feet to Kolton, whom he took from the father, instructing him to return to the boat. David and Kolton were separated. From 800 feet away, two men in another boat saw Kolton’s brother, 9, jumping up and down and waving his arms on the boat that was still moving away from the scene at a trolling speed. They went to the scene and retrieved Kolton’s dad and then Kolton from the water at least 15 minutes after they had entered. They found David about 10 feet north of Kolton. He had drowned. By then a marine patrol boat had arrived and assisted in bringing Kolton, his father and brother, and David to shore. Kolton was taken by ambulance to a hospital for observation. He inhaled water into his lungs and had difficulty breathing and a cough. He recovered one month later. David could not be revived.
Christine Dawn King
On July 28, 2022, a 52-year-old woman was driving nearby when she came upon a man holding his 18-month-old daughter over the ledge of a Philadelphia highway overpass threatening to drop her to a concrete parking lot 40 feet below. Although she made several attempts, the girl’s mother failed to remove her daughter from his grasp. Christine Dawn King, a caretaker of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, stopped at the scene and grasped the assailant’s torso, pleading with him to give the girl to her. The assailant, who was armed with a concealed handgun, threatened to shoot King. While she backed away from him, she continued begging for him to hand over the girl. The assailant turned and, again, held the girl over the ledge. King wrapped her arms around his torso again to prevent him from dropping the baby. The mother also held onto her daughter. Police arrived shortly, and, while being held at gunpoint, the assailant gave the girl to the officer before he was taken into custody. The girl and King were uninjured.
Jonathon Baez
A 25-year-old Mesa, Arizona, painter leaped into action Feb. 18, 2022, after seeing smoke issuing from a Mesa apartment building. As Carnegie Hero Jonathon Baez approached the building, he learned that at least one child remained inside a second-floor apartment. After dire conditions prohibited him from entering the apartment at its front door, he went to the rear of the building, climbed to the roof of a storage shed, removed a window frame from a bedroom window 12 feet from the ground, and jumped up, grasping the base of the window sill and pulling himself partially through the opening. Baez found a 2-year-old girl just inside the window, pulled her to him and retreated, handing her off to a police officer nearby. After learning that her 6-year-old sister also remained in the apartment, Baez pulled himself to the window opening again, fully entered the bedroom and searched for the girl despite heavy smoke. Crawling, he found the girl in a closet, about 10 feet from the window opening. Holding her hand, he led her to the window and handed her down to another police officer. He then exited through the window to safety.
Sean Patrick Kalletta
Suffolk County (New York) police officer Sean Patrick Kalletta responded to a Jan. 2, 2021, house fire in Selden, New York, where a couple remained inside the home while attempting to gather their frightened dogs. When Kalletta, 26, learned that people were inside the home, he ran into the home to the kitchen, where he told Debra M. Baker, 51, and Robert J. Baker, 55, that they needed to leave the house immediately. Debra Baker took one dog and left the home, but Robert Baker refused to leave without the other dog. Kalletta reached down toward the dog, but it bit him. Smoke filled the kitchen. Flames grew and spread toward the kitchen. Kalletta pushed the man out of the house through a back door. He and another officer then helped the Bakers and one of the dogs over a fence to safety. The second dog was removed from the house and survived. Kalletta was treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation and the dog bite. No one was burned.
Lloyd Muldrow
A 57-year-old club-goer jumped into action July 4, 2022, after a man struck his friend in the face with a handgun. As people inside the Baltimore club shouted that the assailant had a gun, Lloyd Muldrow, a retired safety and training manager of Jacksonville, North Carolina, entered the building. Seeing his friend, 71-year-old Marshall Cullens, bloodied, Muldrow struck the assailant in the face and forced him to the floor. Although Muldrow had a concealed and loaded handgun, he did not draw it during the altercation. When police arrived, they saw Muldrow and Cullens restraining the assailant on the ground. Medics at the scene treated Cullens, who did not require hospitalization. Muldrow was not injured.
Jordan B. Kurtzer
A 49-year-old man lost consciousness behind the wheel of his four-door pickup truck, which left a Lincoln, Nebraska, road and entered a residential pond on Sept. 3, 2022. As the truck sank in water 7 feet deep, the man remained in the driver’s seat. Carnegie Hero Jordan B. Kurtzer, a 35-year-old sheet metal worker of Lincoln, saw the accident and immediately responded, running down the bank and entering the pond. Assuming the truck doors were locked, Kurtzer jumped into the truck’s bed. Another motorist responded to the bed with a tire iron, and Kurtzer used it to break the truck’s rear windshield, leaning through the opening to unlock a rear door. Kurtzer opened the rear door, but doing so caused the truck to sink faster with water flooding the car’s interior. Kurtzer entered the back-seat area of the truck, unlatched the driver’s seat belt, and reclined his seat to grab the man’s arm, pulling him to the back seats. Finding two child-sized life jackets, Kurtzer and the other motorist placed them around the man’s arm and floated him out of the truck to safety. A police officer who had responded also entered the pond and helped Kurtzer and the motorist take the man to the bank.
Kendall Reyes
A Palm Beach police officer intervened in a June 18 suicide attempt in which a 67-year-old, distraught woman was perched on the ledge of a six-story building, about 50 feet above a parking lot. As police responded to the scene, officer Kendall Reyes, 38, arrived and attempted to establish a rapport with the woman. After several minutes of trying to lure her away from the edge of the roof, the woman sat on a 2-foot-high wall that lined the perimeter of the roof, her legs dangling over the side. Concluding that she was about to jump, Reyes sprinted 15 feet to the woman and pulled her backward from the ledge to the roof by her shoulders. As they struggled on the roof, other officers responded to help subdue the woman.
Tyler Badet
An 18-year-old man found himself amid crashing 10-foot waves threatening to pound him into seaside cliffs in San Diego while attempting a Jan. 6, 2021, rescue of a couple who had entered the Pacific Ocean at a cove and struggled in the choppy water. High school student Tyler Badet of San Diego was surfing nearby when he spotted a couple struggling to stay afloat in the V-shaped cove where the waves slammed into the rocky cliffs and circulated creating a whirlpool effect. In the cove the 59-degree water was 9 feet deep. He paddled to them, and, instructing the man to hold onto the nose of the surfboard, moved the man to an area of the cove where he could exit the water. Badet paddled back to the woman and did the same, but she panicked and would not let go of the surfboard to exit the water. Waves crashed around them, and, after two more attempts to get the woman to safety, Badet paddled into the center of the cove and waited for help. Lifeguards arrived, entered the water, swam to the woman, and took her to safety. Badet paddled about 50 feet where he could exit the water safely.
Joseph D. Donnell
A 9-year-old boy was trapped Aug. 22, 2022, in a pickup truck submerged in water 9 feet deep in a remote Oakley, Utah, reservoir. Paxton K. Knight was with two other children, ages 9 and 2, in the truck when it entered the water. Others rescued the other two children, but as the truck sank, Paxton remained inside. Retired state park ranger, Joseph D. Donnell, 55, of Kamas, Utah, was kayaking nearby when he saw the truck enter the 60-degree water. Donnell removed his life vest and exited his kayak, swimming to the truck. He submerged to fully enter the truck and felt around the backseat area and floorboards for Paxton in the murky water. Not finding him, Donnell returned to the surface for air and then dived again, entering the truck through a rear door and searching for Paxton with his hands. Witnesses said Donnell dove at least six times. On the final dive, Donnell felt Paxton’s clothing, pulled him to his chest, exited the truck, and returned to the surface. He swam him to the bank, where he and others performed CPR on the non-responsive boy. After 15 minutes of CPR, Paxton had a faint pulse. He was taken to the hospital by helicopter where he remained for eight days. He fully recovered. Donnell was tired and cold but not injured.
Robert M. Wilson, Jr., and Andrew Reischl
Two Glendale (Wisconsin) police officers entered the dangerously cold Milwaukee River on April 10, 2022, to rescue an unresponsive driver, 46, of an SUV that had entered the river and submerged in water 9 feet deep. Officer Robert M. Wilson, Jr., 32, arrived at the scene first and swam about 100 feet to the SUV, peering through its sunroof, but he could not see anyone inside. He swam back to the bank, and when Officer Andrew Reischl, 34, arrived with a window-breaking tool, and they swam to the SUV again. Seeing that the driver’s window was partially down, Reischl kicked at it until it lowered completely. Holding to the car’s roof cargo bar, Reischl reached inside the car and cut the man’s seat belt. Submerging, Reischl pulled on the man until he was through the window. Wilson and Reischl then swam the man back to the bank, where other officers helped them out of the water. The man was taken to the hospital and survived. Wilson and Reischl were also checked out at a hospital and recovered.
Anthony Diehl, deceased
Carnegie Hero Anthony Diehl died July 13, 2022, attempting to save his 7-year-old nephew from drowning near South Haven, Michigan. Elijah T. Britt was playing in the shallow water of Lake Michigan with a bodyboard when the waves became stronger and the current took him farther from shore than the other children in his party. Diehl, a 33-year-old restaurant manager of Beavercreek, Ohio, swam to Elijah, who was then about 65 feet from shore. Diehl was seen near Elijah, but soon the waves separated them and their family lost sight of them. The rough current brought Elijah to shore a short time later, but the boy could not be revived. Water conditions continued to deteriorate and thwarted the search for Diehl. His body was recovered the following day. He, too, had drowned.
David P. Duffey
A 25-year-old college student was driving in Irwin, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 16, 2022, when he saw the tractor trailer in front of him veer off the highway, collide into a guide rail, concrete barrier, and overpass. The cab came to rest facing the trailer and pointing to the sky; flames broke out in the twisted wreckage including burning near spilled fuel along the driver’s side. David P. Duffey of Midway, Pennsylvania, hoisted himself through the passenger-side window opening, which had been broken out in the accident. With difficulty, he pulled driver Shune E. Moore, 56, from the cab to the ground. Duffey and another man pulled Moore about 7 feet when an explosion knocked Duffey and the other man to the ground. Flames grew to 15 feet high. Duffey and others dragged Moore farther away to safety. Moore was treated at a hospital for injuries incurred in the accident; Duffey suffered a back injury. No one was burned.
Stephen D. Rhodes
A fish and wildlife enforcement officer jumped into action on May 7, 2022, to save a 7-year-old girl who was trapped underwater beneath an overturned boat in the Gulf of Mexico off of Grand Isle, Louisiana. After the boat capsized, eight of the nine passengers escaped the boat and climbed on top of the outside of the hull, but Jaqueline Toledo, a little girl who was wearing a life vest, was missing. After responding to the scene, Stephen D. Rhodes, 51, of Houma, Louisiana, removed his ballistic vest, duty belt, and firearm, left his boat, and swam under the capsized boat, searching for Jacqueline with his arms in front of him. Failing to find her, he came back up to the surface for a breath of air and then submerged again. Failing to find her on his second attempt, Rhodes held onto the gunwale of the boat and used his legs to probe the underside of the boat until he felt something brush against his foot. Rhodes submerged again, swam 4 feet to Jacqueline who was unconscious, and brought her to the surface. Others took her to Rhodes’ boat, where Rhodes returned and performed CPR. Jacqueline was resuscitated and she recovered. Rhodes was not injured.
Jasmine and JaCora Lashale Morris
Two teen sisters entered near-freezing water to save two young boys from drowning after the boys broke through the ice of a retention pond situated in their West Des Moines, Iowa, apartment complex on Feb. 25, 2023. The boys, who were about 9 years old, struggled in water 6 feet deep at a point about 10 feet from the nearest bank. After calling out for her sister, Jasmine Morris, 15, entered the frigid water and swam to one of the boys. She attempted to break a path through the ice with her elbow, but failing to do that, she pushed the boy up onto the ice, so he could crawl to the safety of the bank. By then, Jasmine’s sister, JaCora Lashale Morris, 17, had entered the pond and pulled the other boy, who was sinking, up to the surface of the water. JaCora struggled to push the boy up onto the ice due to the weight of a backpack he wore. JaCora removed the backpack, letting it sink, and then pushed him up onto the ice. A bystander helped JaCora from the water, while Jasmine exited on her own. The sisters suffered minor cuts on their arms and legs but were otherwise uninjured.