Lenny and Kristi Gravois, parents of Layne Paul Gravois, hold his Carnegie Medal as the young hero’s siblings, Addison and Collin, look on during a ceremony at the Bayou Country Club in Thibodaux, Louisiana, on July 5, 2022.
State Rep. Beryl Amedee was among those who gathered to honor Gravois, of Gray, Louisiana, who died attempting to save two children from
drowning in the Gulf of Mexico off Miramar Beach, Florida, on April 8, 2021.
Gravois, a 21-year-old student at Louisiana State University, was with a group of friends when they learned of distressed swimmers in the turbulent gulf
surf. Gravois and some friends entered the water and soon a human chain was formed from shore in an attempt to reach those who were struggling.
Buffeted by heavy waves, Gravois was removed from the water by others and was taken to a hospital, where he died the following day.
Further information about the children was not confirmed following the incident, in which 11 people needed medical attention on the beach.
“It’s one thing when someone will jump in on behalf of a family member, a loved one, a friend, but when somebody will jump into waters and it’s just to try to rescue people that they’ve never even met, I mean, that’s just completely selfless,” Amedee told a reporter for WGNO in New Orleans.
Photo courtesy of Louisiana state Rep. Beryl Amedee.