Honouring the brave
Six Northerners recognized in Ottawa for acts of bravery
Paul Bickford and Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 27, 2014
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Governor General David Johnston recognized six NWT residents for acts of bravery during a ceremony in Ottawa on Oct. 21.
Among the Medal of Bravery recipients was Hay Riverite Mike Sharpe, originally from Inuvik, was honoured for helping pull a driver from a flaming wreck on an Alberta highway in 2009.
"It was quite exciting," said Sharpe of the medal presentation at Rideau Hall. "There was a lot of ceremony to it."
Plus, Oct. 21 was a special day for him to receive a medal.
"I got it on my birthday, too," said the 41-year-old. "That was a bonus."
In September of 2009, Sharpe rescued a man from a burning fuel truck, which had overturned on Alberta's Highway 63, about 200 km south of Fort McMurray. Sharpe rushed through smoke and flames, and managed to pull the driver to safety just moments before the truck was completely engulfed.
Except for a scrape on his head, the driver was uninjured.
At that time, Sharpe was working with Syncrude in Fort McMurray. Now, he co-owns a business called Cash and Carry, a mobile food and dry goods operation in Hay River.
Sharpe has previously received three other medals for his actions - a silver medal for bravery from the Royal Canadian Humane Society, the Stanhope Medal and the Carnegie Medal.
Asked if he feels like a hero, Sharpe said yes and no.
"I did something really brave and I'm really glad that buddy made it through alright and he could go home to his wife and kids," he said.
"That for me is more than enough to know that. That was all I really needed from day one."
Bravery seems to run in the Sharpe family, as Mike's father Vince Sharp of Inuvik was also awarded a Medal of Bravery in 2011 for his actions in late 2007 when he pulled two people from a burning trailer in Inuvik.
Mike Sharpe believes it can't happen very often that a father and son would win the same medal for different incidents.
"I think it's a nice legacy for the family to have two winners like that," he said.
Eight individuals, including five Yellowknifers, were also awarded the Medal of Bravery in recognition of their role following a plane crash in Old Town three years ago.
Yellowknifers Kent Bissell, Roderick Brown, Matthew Grogono, Mike Murphy and Allan Shortt received the
medal at Rideau Hall.
In total, Gov. Gen. David Johnston handed out eight medals to individuals who played a "vital role in the evacuation of several passengers" from a floatplane that crashed on Sept. 22, 2011.
Sergio Sanchez of Alberta, Gregory Van Langenhove of Saskatchewan and American David Swisher were also recognized for their help following the crash.
Pilot Trevor Jonasson and first officer Nicole Stacey died and seven passengers were injured in the crash.
"Without any thought for their own safety, the rescuers entered the aircraft and provided assistance to the victims," stated a news release about the award recipients.
"Despite the heavy smoke coming from the engine, the leaking fuel, and the risk of explosion, they managed to bring the victims to safety."
Grogono works at Old Town Glassworks, close to where
the crash happened. The event in Ottawa was the first time since that September day he talked about what happened to the group of people who also arrived at the scene early on.
He said talking with the others and going to Ottawa helped him process the tragedy.
"That was key thing for me," Grogono said, adding that there will never be full closure.
"It gave me a chance to understand some of the complexities of what went on," he said in an interview Wednesday from Calgary on his way back to Yellowknife.
"We were fortunate that no one else got hurt."
In all, Governor General David Johnston presented Medals of Bravery to 45 people from across the country on Oct. 21.
RCMP nominate potential recipients of the medals. Nominations can take up to two years to be processed Marie-Pierre Belanger, a media relations officer with the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, previously told Northern News Services.
About 200 nominations are received per year, with about 120 to 135 people receiving a bravery commendation.
