Carnegie Medal awarded to 18 civilians for acts of extraordinary heroism

Posted on by Jewels Phraner

heroism

Pittsburgh, Pa., September 19, 2017— A 10-year-old boy who died while attempting to save his 2-year-old cousin from a house fire is one of 18 people recently awarded the Carnegie Medal for outstanding civilian heroism.

Kevin D. Little, Jr., of Milwaukee, was the youngest of the Carnegie Heroes announced today in the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission’s third announcement of 2017.

Three others also died in the performance of their acts: a 39-year-old custodian from Ottawa helped to save a 12-year-old boy from drowning; a 34-year-old truck driver from Wood Lake, Minn., attempted to save a man from suffocation; and a 36-year-old metal worker from Onalaska, Texas, helped to rescue a 7-year-old girl from drowning.

The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the United States and Canada to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.

The heroes announced today bring to 57 the number of awards made to date in 2017 and to 9,971 the total number since the Pittsburgh-based Fund’s inception in 1904.

Commission Chair Mark Laskow said each of the awardees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant.

Throughout the 113 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, $39.4 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.

The awardees are:

To nominate someone for the Carnegie Medal, complete a nomination form online, write the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission at 436 Seventh Ave., Suite 1101, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, or call 1-800-447-8900 (toll-free). More information on theCarnegie Medal and the history of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission can be found at carnegiehero.org. Find us on Facebook or Twitter.

KEVIN L. HESELTON

Tiburon, California

Kevin L. Heselton rescued Marcy L. Andrews from assault, San Rafael, California, June 18, 2016. Andrews was in her fenced-in backyard when a man entered the yard and said he was going to kill her. He pulled a revolver partially out of the pocket of his pants. Andrews picked up a pair of pruning shears, ran to the wooden fence, which was about 6 feet high, and started to climb over it, but the assailant pulled her to the ground. Andrews screamed for help. The assailant took the pruning shears from her and stabbed her in the neck and back before he began to choke her. Heselton, 44, construction company owner, was in the neighborhood and heard the screams. He ran to the fence, climbed over it, and dropped to the ground. Heselton went to the assailant and Andrews and kicked the assailant off of her. Heselton grabbed the assailant and held him to the ground. Andrews was moved out of the yard by others to safety. Police arrived and apprehended the assailant. Andrews sustained stab wounds and contusions and was treated at a hospital. Heselton sustained a laceration to his right hand and was treated at the scene; he recovered. 88391-9954

KEVIN D. LITTLE, JR., deceased

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Kevin D. Little, Jr., died attempting to save Tae’Najah Morgan from burning, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 20, 2015. Tae’Najah, 2, was in a bedroom on the second floor of a house when fire broke out in the living room below the bedroom. Her cousin, Kevin D. Little, Jr., 10, student, was sleeping in the same room. Kevin’s grandmother and his four younger siblings were in an adjacent bedroom. Kevin entered the adjacent bedroom and woke his grandmother, alerting her to the fire in the house. The grandmother woke the younger children. Kevin exited the bedroom ahead of his grandmother and younger siblings. The grandmother got the four younger children down to the first floor and exited the house to safety. Kevin was found in the bedroom where he had been sleeping. He was lying on Tae’Najah and there was a mattress pulled over the two of them. Both Kevin and Tae’Najah were removed from the house by firefighters. Tae’Najah died the next day of smoke inhalation. Kevin died nearly three weeks after the fire; his death due to smoke inhalation. 88847-9955

NATHAN MICHAEL STIEG

JAYDEN CHARLES CONCHA

Dickinson, North Dakota

Nathan Michael Stieg and Jayden Charles Concha helped to rescue Edward W. Shypkoski and attempted to help rescue Frederick J. Ewoniuk from drowning, Mandaree, North Dakota, February 20, 2016. Shypkoski, 58, was riding on his all-terrain vehicle with Ewoniuk, 60, on ice on Lake Sakakawea when the ice broke beneath them, sending them into the frigid water. Unable to lift themselves onto the ice, Shypkoski and Ewoniuk both screamed for help. Across the lake, an ice fisherman, Stieg, 30, electrician, and his nephew Jayden, 14, student, heard the screams. Stieg, with Jayden, rode their all-terrain vehicle to a point about 30 feet from the hole created by the fall. He removed fishing equipment from the vehicle and moved the vehicle to a point about 10 feet from the hole. Jayden retrieved cable from a winch at the front of the vehicle and gave it to Stieg, who took the cable to a point about 6 feet from the hole, threw it toward Ewoniuk, but was unable to reach him. Stieg then broke through ice, fully submerged and resurfaced. Seconds later, Jayden and the vehicle also broke through. Stieg aided Jayden out of the water and then got himself out. He directed Jayden to stay back on safer ice. Stieg returned to his equipment and secured a 5-foot piece of rope. He walked back to the hole, reaching the north end, and got down on his stomach and extended the rope toward Shypkoski. By then, Ewoniuk had submerged. Shypkoski moved along the ice until he could grasp the rope. Once he reached it, Stieg, holding the other end, pulled him partially out, then started to back away from the hole. Shypkoski rolled his upper body onto the ice and climbed the rest of the way out. He stood up, and Stieg aided him in walking to Jayden, who assisted Shypkoski to the bank. Stieg walked separately to the bank and they met at his truck. Stieg and Jayden drove with Shypkoski to a nearby home, where they called 911. Shypkoski was hospitalized two days for treatment of his injuries, and he recovered. Ewoniuk’s body was recovered about six hours later. He had drowned. Stieg was cold and nearly exhausted. Jayden suffered bruising and a sprain to his right wrist. He later went to his doctor for treatment. He recovered. 88247-9956/88248-9957

MERRILL O. NAYLOR

Stephens City, Virginia

Merrill O. Naylor rescued Sheryl C. Lewis from burning, Stephens City, Virginia, November 4, 2015. In the evening, Lewis, 70, awoke in her bedroom inside her one-story house and, smelling smoke, went to the living room to see that a fire had broken out and was spreading quickly. She suffered severe burns near the living room and struggled amid smoke to head toward a kitchen door. A neighbor across the street, Naylor, 56, security specialist, was alerted to the fire and ran to the house. He heard Lewis calling for help and entered at a kitchen door. Fire burned on the ceiling. Following Lewis’s voice, Naylor crawled about 15 feet toward the living room until he found her on the floor. Unable to lift Lewis, who outweighed him, Naylor told her to hug onto him as he reached under her arms. He then dragged her to the kitchen door and outside to safety. Lewis, who inhaled smoke, was flown to a hospital and underwent lengthy treatment for her burns. Naylor declined medical treatment for minor burns to his face, neck, and back, and smoke inhalation. 88681-9958

RICHARD WILLIAM DORRITY

Livingston, California

Richard William Dorrity saved Clyde D. Willoughby from burning, Livingston, California, April 19, 2016. Willoughby, 19, was the front seat passenger in a pickup truck that collided with a tractor-trailer on a two-lane road. The pickup truck caught fire. Dorrity, 64, disabled truck driver, lived nearby and heard the crash. He drove his vehicle to the scene, where he saw flames on the pickup truck and Willoughby in the passenger seat. Electric lines from a nearby power pole were draped above the truck. Dorrity reached his arms through the window opening and grasped Willoughby, but a part of the window frame was blocking the opening and Dorrity could not move him. Dorrity picked up a metal bar and used it to pry away the part of the frame to the side of the opening. He then reached through the opening and released Willoughby’s seatbelt, grasped him underneath the arms and pulled him head first through the window opening. Dorrity helped Willoughby to his feet and away from the burning vehicle. The two had only walked a few steps before an explosion occurred at the truck, knocking them to the ground. As they moved farther away, the electric lines fell onto the truck, which was shortly engulfed by flames. Willoughby was treated at a hospital for a head injury and broken ribs. Dorrity was not injured. 88221-9959

MICHAEL LUMAHANG, deceased

JESSE T. HAW

Ottawa, Ontario

Michael Lumahang died helping to save and Jesse T. Haw helped to save a 12-year-old boy from drowning, Ottawa, Ontario, August 23, 2014. The boy was fishing on rocks in the Ottawa River with Lumahang, 39, custodian and family friend, when he slipped and fell into the water. Lumahang threw his fishing pole to the boy but the boy was unable to grasp it and was pulled downstream by the current. Lumahang jumped into the 65-degree water and moved toward the boy. The two shouted for help. Haw, 24, was nearby and heard them shouting. Haw swam out to Lumahang and the boy and grasped them. Haw swam backwards with them toward the bank but submerged a few times. Unable to continue to swim with both the boy and Lumahang, Haw and Lumahang separated and Lumahang was taken downstream by the current. Haw swam with the boy toward the bank where others took the boy from him when he had difficulty swimming. They removed the boy from the water. Haw was able to exit the water on his own. Lumahang submerged in the water and drowned. The boy was treated for mild hypothermia. Haw was cold after the rescue and sustained lacerations to his feet; he recovered. 86807-9960/88540-9961

JOHN PAUL HOLLYFIELD

Accokeek, Maryland

John Paul Hollyfield saved Ashley S. Gruwell from being struck by a falling tree limb, Accokeek, Maryland, July 9, 2015. During a cookout on the wooded Moyaone Reserve, Ashley, 6, was seated at the top of a slide that was about 10 feet beneath an 80-foot-long limb of an old-growth tree, the base of which was about 20 feet away. At the trunk, the limb was at least 3 feet in diameter. An attendee, Hollyfield, 56, teacher, heard the limb cracking from the tree and concluded that its collapse was imminent. While Hollyfield and others yelled for guests nearby to disperse, Ashley remained atop the slide. Hollyfield, then standing near a pavilion, ran about 30 feet to the slide, where he grabbed Ashley and led her to the ground. Hollyfield then led her to safety in the vicinity of the pavilion. Within seconds, the limb fell across the top of the slide, destroying it, while also damaging other structures at the scene. 88656-9962

DAVID E. HAMMOND

Gulf Breeze, Florida

David E. Hammond saved Stephanie Wright from burning, Gulf Breeze, Florida, July 28, 2016. At night, Wright, 47, who used a wheelchair, was in her bedroom after a fire started in another bedroom on the same end of her one-story house. Wright called 911 and spoke with a dispatcher, then called her friend and landlord, Hammond, 64, retired business operator, on another phone. Overhearing Wright tell a dispatcher that she could not breathe, Hammond drove to her house. As smoke spread to her room, Wright passed out in bed. Arriving at the scene, Hammond repeatedly rammed his body into the glass sliding door at her bedroom until it broke open; he fell to the floor inside. Unable to see her bed, Hammond crawled until he felt it and located Wright. He dragged Wright to the doorway, then collapsed, nearly exhausted. Police officers took Wright away from the house as firefighters arrived on scene. Wright was not burned, but she was hospitalized for two nights for treatment of smoke inhalation. Hammond, who suffered numerous cuts on his body, also was treated for inhaling smoke. 88458-9963

ERIC W. EDWARDS

Lodi, California

Eric W. Edwards rescued Orlando A. Villalobos from drowning, Watsonville, California, February 14, 2015. Villalobos, 37, was swimming in the Pacific Ocean when he was caught in a rip current and carried away from shore. Edwards, 39, off-duty firefighter and emergency medical technician, entered the 55-degree water with a boogie board and swam in the 6-foot swells toward Villalobos, the boogie board pulled away and recovered several times. When Edwards reached him he extended the board to Villalobos, who was barely above the surface of the water. Villalobos grasped the board and, with Edwards kicking, the men moved with difficulty in the rough conditions toward shore. When they reached wadable water others came out and carried Villalobos from the water. Edwards exited on his own and collapsed on the beach. Villalobos was treated at a hospital for mild hypothermia, from which he recovered. Edwards also sustained mild hypothermia and was nearly exhausted. He was treated at the scene and recovered. 88162-9964

JAMIE ALAN HYATT, deceased

Wood Lake, Minnesota

Jamie Alan Hyatt died attempting to rescue David D. Syring from suffocation, Granite Falls, Minnesota, January 7, 2016. Syring, 34, was working on a farm inside a tanker-trailer that was later found to be deficient in oxygen when he collapsed and lost consciousness. Hyatt, 34, who was a friend of Syring’s and was employed as a truck driver by the farm, was outside the tanker talking to Syring when Syring collapsed and became unresponsive. Hyatt, from a ladder on the tanker’s side, called out to Syring, then despite near-darkness inside and no easy egress entered its interior by way of a small hatch in its top. Once inside the tanker Hyatt experienced breathing difficulties almost immediately. He attempted to reach Syring about 20 feet away but ultimately lost consciousness and became unresponsive. A local fire department arrived shortly and, unable to reach Syring and Hyatt through the hatch, cut an opening in the side of the tanker to remove the men, who were transported to the hospital. Syring regained consciousness and survived. Hyatt died later that day from effects of asphyxia. 88040-9965

VINCENT SANTANIELLO

HAROLD SHAW

Uhrichsville, Ohio

Vincent Santaniello and Harold Shaw saved Crystal G. Roup from burning, Uhrichsville, Ohio, September 27, 2016. At night in a rural area, Roup, 32, was the driver of a pickup truck that left the highway at a curve, struck a utility pole, and came to a stop on the road, between two houses. There was heavy damage to the front end and the driver’s door, and fire broke out under the hood. Roup was trapped on the driver’s side, and she screamed for help. A nearby homeowner, Santaniello, 56, truck driver, went to the pickup and opened the passenger-side door. Reaching inside, he pulled Roup’s torso into the passenger seat. His neighbor, Shaw, 68, retired mechanic, responded to the scene. Informed that Roup’s legs still were stuck, Shaw entered the truck and reached to the driver’s side floor to free her feet from the pedals. Shaw then moved the steering wheel, further freeing Roup, as Santaniello pulled her from the truck. Santaniello and Shaw dragged Roup into the grass before flames increased to engulf the truck. Roup was hospitalized for minor injuries but was not burned. Shaw suffered minor cuts to his fingers. 88598-9966/88599-9967

RENÉ ROY

Sherbrooke, Quebec

René Roy saved Robert Mercier from burning, Sherbrooke, Quebec, August 5, 2016. At night, Mercier, 78, remained inside the car he was driving after it had left the road near a curve, went down an embankment, and overturned. A fire started at the front end, and Mercier ended up in the trunk. Damage to the car’s rear end near the trunk included a small opening. A passing motorist, Roy, 55, electro-mechanical technician, stopped at the scene, approaching Mercier’s car, where flames prohibited possible entry at the front doors. Unsure if anyone was inside the car, Roy called out, and Mercier responded. Roy reached through the hole, but it was too narrow for him to enter further. A rear tire then exploded, causing Roy to step away. Seeing Mercier’s head and arm emerge through the opening, Roy returned to the car, grabbed the free arm and pulled, pressing his foot against the car for leverage. Through continuous pulling, Roy freed Mercier, who was taller and heavier than him. Roy then dragged Mercier away from the car before flames spread to consume it. Mercier was hospitalized for treatment, but he was not burned. 88481-9968

BOBBY LYNN ARNOLD, deceased

Onalaska, Texas

Bobby Lynn Arnold died helping to rescue Emily A. Nevil from drowning, Trinity, Texas, June 29, 2016. Emily, 7, while boating with her family, fell from the bow platform of a pontoon boat into Lake Livingston. She struggled to stay afloat in the water. Arnold, 36, metal worker, was on the boat and witnessed Emily’s fall. Arnold jumped from the rear of the boat into the lake and swam to her. Emily’s mother and aunt also jumped into the water and swam toward Emily. The aunt tried to reach Emily but the current thwarted her efforts. Arnold grasped Emily about her torso and held her above the water’s surface. Arnold handed her to her mother, who had by then reached them, and she also held Emily above the water. They took turns holding her until the mother submerged and was taken away from them by current, later reaching the shore to safety. Arnold held her until a man in a pontoon boat arrived. The man took Emily from Arnold, and Arnold submerged and never resurfaced. Emily required hospital treatment for contusions to the majority of her body, and she was monitored for possible water inhalation. She was treated and released, and she recovered. A dive team later responded and recovered Arnold’s body about eight hours later. He had drowned. 88388-9969

TANNER DOUGLAS BOSLAU

Bend, Oregon

Tanner Douglas Boslau saved Teresa Samano from drowning, Bend, Oregon, August 7, 2016. On the Deschutes River, Samano, 58, floated on an inner tube into an impoundment for a hydroelectric dam and held to a buoyed cable that spanned the river. The 62-degree water flowed toward the dam’s spillway, which was about 75 feet away, and Samano was about 20 feet from the retaining wall at the closest bank. On a paddle board upstream, Boslau, 30, service advisor, heard Samano’s family call for help; he paddled to the cable. Boslau lowered himself, untangled Samano from the cable and inner tube, and directed her to hold onto his board as he sat atop it. Boslau then grabbed the cable with one hand and towed Samano to the near bank. Arriving police threw Boslau a rope, and he maneuvered the board against the wall. Police pulled Samano from the water, then helped Boslau to land. 88480-9970

JAMES O. VERNON

Morton, Illinois

James O. Vernon saved 17 children and 4 women from assault, Morton, Illinois, October 13, 2015. The children and women were in a conference room of a public library attending a youth chess class. James O. Vernon, 75, retired information technology specialist, was the instructor of the class. A 19-year-old man, holding a knife in each hand, entered the classroom shouting. He stopped near a table where children were playing a chess game. Vernon, who was a short distance away, stepped toward the assailant and confronted him while the children and women exited the room to safety. The assailant swung one of the knives at Vernon, who raised his left arm to deflect it. A struggle ensued, with Vernon forcing the assailant onto a table, subduing him and causing him to release his grip on the knives. Police arrived and apprehended the assailant. Vernon underwent surgery for multiple serious lacerations to his left hand. 87771-9971