August 29, 2005
OTTAWA - Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, announced today the awarding
of 13 Decorations for Bravery.
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
Thomas Bangert, M.B.
Stavely, Alberta
OPP Constable Bryan D. Bertoncello, M.B.,
Kirkland Lake, Ontario
Kenton Boydon, M.B.
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Charles Carrière, M.B.
Toronto, Ontario
Ronald Joseph Crawford, M.B. (posthumous)
Hamilton, Ontario
OPP Constable Angela L. Davis-Witty, M.B.
Swastika, Ontario
OPP Constable Michael D. Johnston, M.B.
Kirkland Lake, Ontario
Constable Stephen Knight, M.B.
Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador
Régis Lévesque, M.B.
Quebec, Quebec
OPP Constable Sylvie D. Moore, M.B.
Timmins, Ontario
Kevin Schraeder, M.B.
Kirkland Lake, Ontario
James Scott, M.B.,
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Michael Williamson, M.B.
North Bay, Ontario
The recipients' citations are enclosed in the annex.
The Decorations for 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.
-30-
Media information
Eric Richer
Rideau Hall Press Office
(613) 998-7280
www.gg.ca
Public information
The Chancellery of Honours
(613) 993-2569 or 1 800 465-6890
CITATIONS
Thomas Bangert, M.B., Stavely, Alberta
Medal of Bravery
On July 7, 2004, Thomas Bangert rescued a man from a flaming fuel truck near Okotoks, Alberta. Following a collision
between his vacuum truck and the victim's tanker trailer, Mr. Bangert extricated himself from his vehicle and rushed to
assist the other injured driver out of his burning wreck. When his efforts to break the driver's side window proved unsuccessful,
Mr. Bangert ran to the passenger side, grabbed a piece of metal and smashed the window to allow the victim to crawl out.
Despite his injuries and the threat of an explosion, Mr. Bangert grabbed the victim under the arms and helped him out of
the truck cab. Mr. Bangert then pulled the victim a safe distance away from the blaze where they extinguished the flames
on their clothing.
OPP Constable Bryan D. Bertoncello, M.B., Kirkland Lake, Ontario
OPP Constable Angela L. Davis-Witty, M.B., Swastika, Ontario
OPP Constable Michael D. Johnston, M.B., Kirkland Lake, Ontario
OPP Constable Sylvie D. Moore, M.B., Timmins, Ontario
Kevin Schraeder, M.B., Kirkland Lake, Ontario
Medal of Bravery
On September 19, 2004, these five individuals helped in the evacuation of residents from a burning building
that housed three businesses and six residential apartments, in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. As heavy flames billowed from a
second-floor apartment, constables Bertoncello, Davis-Witty, Johnston and Moore entered the hazardous environment and ascended
the stairwell filled with black, acrid smoke to search for the trapped residents. Meanwhile, Mr. Schraeder, one of the
tenants, pounded on doors to alert his neighbours to the fire, before assisting police officers in their search for missing
residents. The rescuers were forced to retreat from the building when the ceiling and walls of the stairwell became completely
engulfed in flames. Sadly, in spite of the rescuers' efforts, two tenants perished in the fire.
Kenton Boydon, M.B., Niagara Falls, Ontario
James Scott, M.B., Niagara Falls, Ontario
Medal of Bravery
On February 18, 2004, Kenton Boydon and James Scott assisted in the arrest of an armed fugitive in Niagara Falls,
Ontario. Following a vehicle and foot pursuit, a police officer tackled the man who pulled out a handgun and pointed it
at the officer's head, threatening to kill him. Unable to disarm the aggressor while struggling to hold him down, the officer
shouted for help. Messrs. Boydon and Scott, who had witnessed the scene from a distance, ran to assist. They managed to
restrain the gunman, who still had his finger on the trigger, until other officers arrived and apprehended him.
Charles Carrière, M.B., Toronto, Ontario
Medal of Bravery
On December 11, 2003, Charles Carrière rescued an unconscious woman from a burning car on Highway 401 near Kingston,
Ontario. Mr. Carrière was driving his tractor trailer when he witnessed the victim's vehicle leave the roadway and burst
into flames. He immediately stopped his truck and ran across the highway to assist. After temporarily putting out the flames
on the windshield and in the engine area, he opened the driver's side door, and with the assistance of two other men, released
the victim's seatbelt and pulled the woman from the flaming vehicle. He then carried her to a safe area until medical assistance
arrived.
Ronald Joseph Crawford, M.B. (posthumous), Hamilton, Ontario
Medal of Bravery
On August 4, 2002, Ronald Crawford lost his life while attempting to protect a friend who was being attacked
by an armed man in Hamilton, Ontario. The robber, brandishing a knife, entered a local restaurant and demanded money from
the clerk. Sensing his friend was in danger, Mr. Crawford rushed to his rescue from the shop's back room. He attempted
to subdue the out-of-control assailant but, in the scuffle that ensued, he was stabbed in the chest by the aggressor and,
sadly, succumbed to his wounds on his way to hospital.
Constable Stephen Knight, M.B.*, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador
Medal of Bravery
On February 18, 2004, Cst. Stephen Knight, of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, rescued a suicidal teenage
girl who had jumped from the railing of a pedestrian bridge into the Bowring Park's Waterford River, in St. John's, Newfoundland
and Labrador. Dispatched to the scene, Cst. Knight leaped over a fence and climbed down the snow-covered embankment towards
the river's edge. He then jumped into the frigid water and waded until he reached the pool in which the girl was trapped,
her head below the surface. Battling the fierce current, he managed to grab the teenager and make his way back towards
shore, where others had arrived to provide assistance.
* signifies a second award of a Medal of Bravery
Régis Lévesque, M.B., Québec, Quebec
Medal of Bravery
On April 23, 2004, Régis Lévesque rescued a man from his burning apartment in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Quebec.
A forceful explosion had severely damaged the two-storey house and knocked down the balcony and stairs of the second floor
apartment in which the man remained trapped. Without concern for his own safety, Mr. Lévesque climbed the four-metre-high
pile of glass and debris in order to reach the dazed victim, who was tottering on the doorstep of his flaming apartment.
Mr. Lévesque then grabbed the injured man and, carrying him on his shoulder, climbed down the rubble back to safety, shortly
before the house was completely destroyed by the flames.
Michael Williamson, M.B., North Bay, Ontario
Medal of Bravery
On August 9, 2004, Michael Williamson, who is legally blind, put his life at risk to rescue two men from drowning
in Lake Nipissing, Ontario. When he noticed that the victims, clinging to their capsized canoe, were too weak to reach
the rope thrown at them from his boat, Mr. Williamson jumped into the lake and swam over to reach their side. As he returned
towards the craft with the first victim in tow, Mr. Williamson was struck on the head by his boat as it rocked in the waves,
and he slipped under the water. Disoriented, he temporarily lost his grip on the victim, but managed to grab him again
and swim towards the back of the rescue boat. While friends helped the man onboard, Mr. Williamson swam back to assist
the second canoer until a police vessel arrived at the scene.
