From left, U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, on June 29, 2022, presents the Carnegie Medal to heroes Justin Leland Perry and Jason Hadfield for their role in the July 25, 2020, rescue of a 5-year-old girl from drowning in Lake Michigan after the floatie she was on drifted several hundred feet away from shore and then flipped, tossing the girl in the water. Both taking children’s flotation devices, Perry, a 33-year-old musician from Interlochen, Michigan, and Hadfield, 42, a creative director of Kingsley, Michigan, swam to the girl and then brought her to shore.
“Good men stepping up to help others,” Bergman later posted in a Facebook post about the presentation.
The presentation was held at Bergman’s Traverse City, Michigan, office. Bergman represents Michigan’s first district.