Two Albertans were among the 43 Canadians honoured by Governor General David Johnston at the Decorations for Bravery ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa Friday.
In August of 2014, biologists Myles Brown and Chad Lyttle saved a colleague who was being attacked by a cougar at a research camp near Grande Prairie.
Brown and Lyttle saw their colleague being dragged into the bushes by the cougar, and without any equipment, Brown ran towards the wild animal to get it off the woman.
"We were very fortunate we had a number of colleagues that were with us in camp that day and participated, critical really, in the whole situation and in helping out," Brown said.
The group has become even more close since the incident that nearly took the life of one of the members. They are coworkers, but after working together so frequently, and after this scary experience, they are more than that.
"We use the word 'colleague' very frequently, but we work very closely together," Lyttle said. "Especially the group that was there, we work very closely with each other. We refer to ourselves as more of a family."
This award ceremony was created in 1972, and there are three different medals given: The Cross of Valour “recognizes acts of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme peril”; the Star of Courage “recognizes acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril”; and the Medal of Bravery “recognizes acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances.”
The two Alberta men received the Medal of Bravery.
Const. Curtis Barrett received a Star of Courage for his role in stopping the deadly shooting on Parliament Hill in 2014.
