Carnegie Hero Fund Commission

09/24/2026

A teenage girl was playing in the surf of the Atlantic Ocean off Ocean City, New Jersey, on July 19, 2024, when she, her brother, and her mother were caught in a rip current and were pulled into deeper water.

From the beach, 38-year-old attorney Brandon D. Walcott, from Marmora, New Jersey, noticed the family being pulled away from the shore. Familiar with the water conditions, Walcott rushed to the water’s edge and signaled to the family to determine whether they needed assistance.

There, he encountered a young boy in the same party as the family, who was struggling to remain standing in wadable surf. Walcott carried the boy to safety on the beach and returned to the water. Walcott swam about 80 feet toward the family, who had continued to be pulled away from the shore.

Once near enough, he instructed the mother and the brother to tread water while he swam to the girl, who had submerged. Walcott dived underwater and searched for her until his hand brushed her arm. He pulled her to the surface and, seeing she was struggling to breathe, struck her back until she expelled water from her mouth.

The girl panicked and flailed, but Walcott grasped her shirt and held her at arm’s length before pulling her out of the rip current as the mother and brother followed. The group eventually made it to shallow water where bystanders, including Walcott’s wife, helped the girl onto the beach.

The mother and brother made their way to shore on their own. The girl and her family had refused medical treatment from responding emergency personnel. Walcott was fatigued by the rescue but otherwise unharmed.

Read more: https://www.carnegiehero.org/hero-search/brandon-d-walcott/

09/22/2026

The Carnegie Hero Fund is honored to recognize 16 individuals with the Carnegie Medal for heroism, including a 24-year-old man who rescued an injured hang glider that crashed on the side of a mountain in Duncan, British Columbia; a 19-year-old woman who was shot and killed while coming to the aid of her neighbor who was involved in a domestic violence incident in Peoria, Illinois; and a 53-year-old man who died in an attempt to stop an armed assailant and save the patrons of a crowded bar in Trabuco Canyon, California.

This is the Hero Fund’s third award announcement for 2026. Each individual will receive the Carnegie Medal, the highest honor for civilian heroism in the U.S. and Canada. Among those saved by this quarter’s Carnegie Medal recipients were five children, including a 12-year-old boy who was saved from drowning by a 28-year-old man after being swept downstream in a river in Spencer, Iowa, and a 13-year-old boy in Stockton, California, whose grandfather died in an attempt to rescue him from burning.

The Carnegie Medal is given throughout the U.S. and Canada to those who enter extreme danger while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. With this announcement, the Carnegie Medal has been awarded to 10,597 individuals since the inception of the Pittsburgh-based Fund in 1904. Each of the recipients or their survivors will receive a financial grant. Throughout the 122 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, over $47 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.

Over the coming weeks, we'll share each of their incredible stories and honor the courage, compassion, and sacrifice that earned them the Carnegie Medal.

Please join us in welcoming the newest Carnegie heroes and celebrating their extraordinary courage.

Read more here: https://www.carnegiehero.org/awardee_pr/16-north-americans-awarded-the-carnegie-medal-for-heroism/

09/21/2026

Read more about Carnegie Hero Major Metzger here: https://www.carnegiehero.org/hero-search/major-metzger/

Major Metzger held Bryce Rader, 6, off a chairlift at Nellysford, Virginia for four minutes in 2025. Governor Spanberger gave him the Carnegie Medal.

09/19/2026

The Hero Fund offers a peer-support program just for Carnegie Medal recipients. Through Heroes for Heroes, you can connect with a fellow hero who understands the challenges that might come after a rescue.

Click here to learn more or request a mentor: https://www.carnegiehero.org/heroes/resources-for-awardees/hfh/

09/17/2026

Read more about Carnegie Hero Samuel Hardin Adcock's act of heroism here: https://www.carnegiehero.org/hero-search/samuel-hardin-adcock/

09/17/2026

Need a break from the chaos? Join us every weekend for stories of courage, compassion, and selflessness.

“Heroes” airs at 11 a.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays on Pittsburgh’s Talk Radio 1320 WJAS, sharing inspiring true stories of everyday heroes who risked their lives to save others. Start your weekend with something worth listening to.

Listen live from anywhere: https://1320wjas.com/on-air/heroes/

09/15/2026

"I tried once to get in and get him and thought, there’s nobody else. Am I gonna live the rest of my life knowing I could’ve done something?" – Paul Galotti, Carnegie Hero #10350

Click here to learn more: https://www.carnegiehero.org/hero-search/paul-galotti/

09/13/2026

Heroes for Heroes is a peer support network program is available to Carnegie heroes. Participants will be paired with one of a handful of volunteer coaches to discuss common experience and after-rescue issues and challenges where there is need for supportive communication.

For more information or to apply online, click here: https://www.carnegiehero.org/heroes/resources-for-awardees/hfh/

09/11/2026

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, we are reminded that the acts of heroism displayed on that day are innumerable. In response, the Hero Fund contributed $100,000 to help provide relief to the victims and their families involved in the tragedy. $50,000 went to the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, and $50,000 went to the Children’s Fund, Inc. The Commission also issued a resolution honoring the countless people who acted heroically during the attack, especially those whose response was their last. Photo by Eric Mueller.

09/10/2026

Carnegie Medal presentation to the family of Joshua A. Curtis

Cmdr. Bruce Thomas presented the Carnegie Medal to the family of posthumously awarded Joshua A. Curtis at a ceremony held on Memorial Day in Halifax, Massachusetts.

Click the link to learn more:

Cmdr. Bruce Thomas (of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6258) presented the Carnegie Medal to the family of posthumously awarded Joshua ...