DOINews: BLM Firefighter Awarded Carnegie Medal for Heroism

01/23/2015
Last edited 09/05/2019

Justin Hanley, a BLM firefighter in the Miles City Field Office, was recently awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism for saving two young girls from drowning in the Yellowstone River in summer 2013. The presentation was held Dec. 13 in conjunction with a "Toys for Tots" event at the local Eagles Lodge; the two girls Justin rescued, sisters Chava and Shoshana Berry, presented him with the medal.

Sisters Chava (left) and Shoshana Berry presenting the Carnegie Medal for Heroism to Justin Hanley.
Sisters Chava (left) and Shoshana Berry present the Carnegie Medal for Heroism to Justin Hanley on Dec. 13. Photo by Mark Jacobsen, BLM.

The BLM firefighter saved the girls from drowning in the Yellowstone River at Miles City on Aug. 4, 2013. Chava, 14, and Shoshana, 10, were wading along the bank of the river when the current pulled them into deeper water and carried them downstream.

Hanley, who lived nearby, quickly responded and sprinted several hundred feet along the river bank to a point just beyond the girls. He entered the water and the strong channel current pulled on him, but he reached the girls at a point about 250 feet from the bank. He held Chava, who was inert, with one arm and then grasped Shoshana with that hand. Using his free arm, he stroked back toward the bank, the current continuing to take them downstream. Fatigued and suffering abrasions, Justin finally reached the bank with the girls at a point about 700 feet downstream from where he first entered the river.

Justin Hanley; his wife, Carolina; and daughter, Ava, looking at the Carnegie Medal for Heroism.
Justin Hanley; his wife, Carolina; and daughter, Ava, look at the Carnegie Medal for Heroism. Photo by Mark Jacobsen, BLM.

The Carnegie Hero Fund awards the Carnegie Medal to individuals in the United States and Canada who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree in saving or attempting to save the lives of others. A significant number of recipients are awarded the medal posthumously, having died in their rescue attempt.

Photo of showing the front and back of Carnegie Medal, a bronze medallion three inches in diameter.
The Carnegie Medal recogizes civilians who risk their lives saving or attempting to save the lives of others. Photo by Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.

The three-inch bronze medallion is adorned with laurel, ivy, oak, and thistle, respectively signifying glory, friendship, strength, and persistence – the attributes of a hero.

By: BLM-Montana/Dakotas
Jan. 23, 2015

Related links:

BLM Firefighter honored for saving two lives in 2013 (Billings Gazette, Dec. 27, 2014)

21 in U.S., Canada to Get Carnegie Medal for Extraordinary Civilian Heroism (Carnegie Hero Fund Commission news release, Sept. 30, 2014)

River Rescue: Miles City BLMer Pulls Girls from Yellowstone River (BLM story on doi.gov/employees, August 20, 2013)

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