April 26, 2004 OTTAWA — Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, announced today the awarding of eleven Medals of Bravery for acts of heroism. Recipients will be invited to accept their decorations at a ceremony to be held at a later date. On the recommendation of the Canadian Decorations Advisory Committee (Bravery), the Governor General has announced the following awards: Medal of Bravery James Austin Bates, M.B., Bateston, N.S. Jaxon Glaubitz, M.B., Vegreville, Alb. Stephan Kesting, M.B., Burnaby, B.C. Mandip Kooner, M.B., Surrey, B.C. Chad Kratko, M.B., Vegreville, Alb. Dale Lefebvre, M.B., Vegreville, Alb. Daniel Archibald MacInnis, M.B., Sydney, N.S. Gary Nylund, M.B., Surrey, B.C. Mark Pfeifer, M.B., Surrey, B.C. Nadia Vracotas, M.B., St-Laurent, Que. Jacqueline Rhoda Watt, M.B.(Posthumous), Saskatoon, Sask. The Decorations for Bravery––the Cross of Valour, the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery––were established in 1972 as part of the Canadian Honours System. The Cross of Valour is awarded for acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril. The Star of Courage is awarded for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril. The Medal of Bravery is awarded for acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances. The citations follow (Annex). -30- Media information Rideau Hall Press Office (613) 993-8157 www.gg.ca Public information The Chancellery of Honours (613) 993-2569 or 1 800 465-6890 For more information on the Canadian Honours System, please visit the Governor General's web site at www.gg.ca Annex James Austin Bates, M.B., Bateston, Nova Scotia Daniel Archibald MacInnis, M.B., Sydney, Nova Scotia Medal of Bravery On August 7, 2002, James Bates and Daniel MacInnis rescued a man and his four-year-old son from drowning at Catalone Gut Beach, Nova Scotia. Father and son were sitting on a rubber float when a gust of wind carried them farther out and threw them into the choppy water. Alerted to the situation from the beach, Mr. Bates and Mr. MacInnis, both non-swimmers, grabbed an old wooden boat and paddled through the crashing waves toward the pair, more than a kilometre away. Reaching their side, they pulled the young victim from his father's grasp and brought him aboard, before hauling the semi-conscious man over the stern of the unstable craft. Trying desperately to row back against the forceful winds, they drifted precariously for some 30 minutes before a rescue boat arrived and towed them back to shore. Jaxon Glaubitz, M.B., Vegreville, Alberta Chad Kratko, M.B., Vegreville, Alberta Dale Raymond Lefebvre, M.B., Vegreville, Alberta Medal of Bravery On February 14, 2003, firefighters Jaxon Glaubitz, Chad Kratko and Dale Lefebvre rescued two co-workers from a burning service station in Vegreville, Alberta. The victims, who were part of a team that entered the structure to try to contain the blaze, were trapped when a portion of the roof came down on them. Undeterred by the imminent danger of the entire structure giving way, Mr. Glaubitz and Mr. Kratko immediately made their way inside the blazing building and pulled one of the unconscious victims out of the burning rubble. Catching a glimpse of another colleague's equipment under the debris, Mr. Lefebvre rushed into the smoke-filled building and had begun pulling the victim out when his head gear was knocked off by falling debris. Seeing his colleagues' predicament, Mr. Glaubitz re-entered the structure to assist them. Fortunately, all the men exited safely, seconds before the remainder of the roof collapsed. Stephan Kesting, M.B., Burnaby, British Columbia Mandip Kooner, M.B., Surrey, British Columbia Gary Nylund, M.B., Surrey, British Columbia Mark Pfeifer, M.B., Surrey, British Columbia Medal of Bravery On July 31, 2001, Stephan Kesting, Mandip Kooner, Gary Nylund and Mark Pfeifer rescued two fellow firefighters trapped in one of the largest building fires ever to occur in the municipality of Delta, British Columbia. With two of their colleagues unaccounted for, the foursome from the Rapid Intervention Team went inside the smoke-filled structure despite warnings that the burning warehouse was in danger of collapsing. In spite of depleting air supplies, they dug by hand through heavy piles of paper and rubble until they found the two victims, buried under the debris. The team managed to free the injured firefighters, and carried them outside to safety, moments before the unstable building collapsed. Nadia Vracotas, M.B., St-Laurent, Quebec Medal of Bravery On August 12, 2002, 22-year-old Nadia Vracotas rescued five people from drowning in Corfu, Greece. Ms. Vracotas was at the beach with friends when she heard cries for help, far from shore. She immediately swam through the rough waves and rescued a man and a woman, bringing them back to shore one at a time. She then re-entered the choppy waters, reached two other victims who had also been carried out by the stormy seas and, despite weakening strength, managed to tow each of them back to safety. Although exhausted by her efforts, Ms. Vracotas found the stamina to jump back in when she was alerted that another man was in difficulty. Once again, she fought the strong undertow and reached the unconscious man's side. Struggling to keep his head above the surface, she was able to tow him towards shallow waters, where others had come to help. Jacqueline Rhoda Watt, M.B., (Posthumous) Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Medal of Bravery On January 24, 2002, Jacqueline Watt lost her life trying to prevent a man from stabbing his estranged girlfriend and their two-year-old son, in Langham, Saskatchewan. After the boy's father broke into her friend's apartment, Ms. Watt instructed the mother to run for help while she stayed behind to stop the knife-wielding father from getting closer to the child. In doing so, she was stabbed by the attacker and fell to her knees, severely injured. She managed to get up in a desperate effort to reach the child, but was stabbed again by her assailant. Sadly, Ms. Watt succumbed to her wounds but, thanks to her valiant efforts, the toddler survived the brutal attack.
