[0:01] Okay, good morning, everybody. I'm honored and I'm very happy to be here for today's event of honoring

[0:10] Angela, Angela Liberty, who are police officers in police department, who on Sunday, April 29,

[0:17] 2018 was involved in an event at Carol Park in Thornwood. Now, get a turn of the presentation

[0:26] You know, with Eric Zahren, Eric, would you come up please?

[0:31] Thank you.

[0:32] Thank you for having us.

[0:34] Great to see you all here this morning to help us to honor and recognize

[0:39] one of our latest Carnegie heroes, recipient of the Carnegie Medal,

[0:42] which we'll take care of today.

[0:45] To kind of bring everybody up to speed in terms of the Hero Fund Commission and Andrew Carnegie

[0:50] and what's the medal and what the award and what the honors all about.

[0:53] I'm going to leave most of that to about an eight minute video that I hope you all will enjoy kind of it's a little more entertaining than me up here kind of joining on and on but the Carnegie

[1:04] medal and civilian heroism is something that that we feel very, very passionate about. I should step here for a minute.

[1:11] This is Jules Reiner outreach coordinator from the hero fund if you haven't already met her but we're very passionate about civilian heroism.

[1:17] And what it means, individuals, what it means for our society, what it means for the world,

[1:24] is part of Carnegie's bigger vision of peace.

[1:28] And so he was very passionate about it.

[1:29] We've been around for over 115 years, and on rare occasions, we get to go out and meet

[1:34] actual heroes like we have the opportunity to do today and present the Carnegie Medal for

[1:38] heroism.

[1:39] It is given to those who are found to have risked their lives to an extraordinary degree to

[1:43] save or attempt to save a life for another human being.

[1:46] So, for more of the background new words that I think I'm gonna leave it to the video and then I'll jump back in.

[1:59] It's by their saying to the west to the west to his son as they sail over seven weeks from dire times in Scotland to New York and once upon a time in New York.

[2:10] Eager to the famous scientist's situation, 13-year-old Andrew Whitley advanced from hot meal worker to messenger to telegram operator to a prominent railroad manager by age 24.

[2:25] Tires, innovators, and industry of age into karnati who become the world's self-made man of all time.

[2:36] But the man who dies thus rich dies disgrace, raising karnati, who also pioneered modern philanthropy by donating nearly his entire fortune to establishing institutions for peace, education, culture, science, and arts.

[2:55] Deeply inspired by heroic acts at a devastating coal mining explosion in 1904, Carnegie would immediately create the hero-finding mission.

[3:05] And by such an extraordinary idea that Grappin'Aggie, my great-grandfather, Andrew Carnegie, had.

[3:13] We're here over a hundred years after our founding, because Andrew Carnegie recognized a

[3:20] cluster in human care.

[3:23] She was an attentional worker on the action.

[3:26] It's one of the cases that I did that the police did.

[3:29] She was going to jump off the edge.

[3:32] So they're the hoods now.

[3:33] As she jumped, he was able to grab one of her arms.

[3:37] It's meaningful work, and I think I could probably speak on behalf of the following

[3:42] of the staff of the information that it's very much taken to heart. With those two sole

[3:48] purposes in mind, established by any Carnegie, two recognized heroes, and two support them.

[3:54] And they're added so that neither the hero nor the head of the sufferers are resolved

[3:58] at their selfless act.

[4:01] I really raised this case of the workers themselves. Why did the rescue do it? I have done it.

[4:07] And I tell people, don't be in any hurry to find out, because these are truly frightening events.

[4:14] They do stay with you and they come back to you.

[4:17] One of the cases that I was so extraordinary.

[4:21] I'm young, a boy who was named Six or Seven, fell into the river.

[4:26] Another boy, that like Justin Smith, had a presence of mine.

[4:31] and the presence of the rain to run down the bank of the river,

[4:37] climb up to a pulver, reach out and walk this child,

[4:42] get keen to go to work, the edge, and then go to the hills.

[4:50] Because the heroes and rescuers in stick with me are

[4:52] life-a-bare to be up to person.

[4:54] What's their life on the line for someone else?

[4:57] I think I've passed the old reach through,

[5:00] and only 19 years old, a mother to young children

[5:03] was spotted to assist in an elderly gentleman who was caught in his wheelchair on the railroad track.

[5:11] And I think of Kirill Morrison, who tried to get him lost early,

[5:16] 10 years old, less than a two-year-old child.

[5:22] In those cases, stick with me and I think of him as well.

[5:26] Shortly, the Bureau's line commission was to support as many friends and colleagues.

[5:29] it presentation of its 10,000 and 10,000 first letters.

[5:36] This number is one of the fractional data agencies

[5:39] and a lot of them have a thousand.

[5:41] They commissioned one of those numbers.

[5:44] Despite the obstacles, the danger, the fear, the self-doubt,

[5:50] they did very often for complete strangers.

[5:54] They cared enough to risk them all.

[5:57] Here I'm trying to miss the things committed to see that they are all recognized and supported and just as importantly that they're still resourceful.

[6:07] Game of loyalty is also on the right side.

[6:10] There's nothing wrong with me.

[6:13] That's all I've said. There's a small trip to the wheel.

[6:16] I got to get out and set up to get out.

[6:18] To get a snap.

[6:21] And the next thing I got to do is reach full.

[6:24] Right here on the spot.

[6:25] You know by a new that I was fighting besides losing my life, she pulls up, you know, I give

[6:31] to her right now thinking about it the next thing I was never feeling was her hand

[6:37] from across my hand, grabbing hold to his hand, killing me off my gun.

[6:43] This hand will try to be afraid, it wasn't, it wasn't at all.

[6:48] Just reach out, just a minute of the time to make her leave you, but say it's the one I'm

[6:53] I

[6:59] was just an average day of work. I didn't know what was happening as well at that time.

[7:08] I noticed the park was running the wall, so I grabbed it. I just had this feeling of someone

[7:15] needed to be rescued.

[7:19] It's an entire... I don't understand how I'm going to be able to do this.

[7:25] I'm not initially pulling him out, and he started rolling down like, it's gonna be alright, he's gonna make him.

[7:32] Once we got him in the bay and they started working on him to truck revive him.

[7:37] I was able to walk in and head up to my entrance chest and step up.

[7:43] Just wanted to make sure he was okay.

[8:34] It is the ultimate recognition as I want the person of the equality of another country.

[8:43] We tell people that all men are created equal.

[8:45] Every resident of one of our heroes is an demonstration of fine acts of that principle.

[8:58] My great grandfather was hugely passionate about what he felt,

[9:05] was one of the highest calling of humanity.

[9:08] I just wish I could come back and just say all the good that he has done and that it

[9:15] just continued.

[9:16] I think they'll ever be able to add to it.

[9:21] The ripple effect of one hero's accident and a single moment of time upon society's

[9:26] across generations has a power that cannot be overstated.

[9:31] Today, so far beyond his time, and through carnities, legacy inspires a stronger, wise and

[9:43] So

[9:49] as you can see from the video, one thing I would highlight is, I mentioned Carnegie's

[9:54] passion for heroism and for the fund itself.

[9:58] Andrew Carnegie had a lot of money at that time, arguably, which is man in the world.

[10:02] But what's special about the hero fund is you often call it his own child because it was

[10:07] the one thing that he came up with in terms of, you know, a channel for his philanthropy

[10:12] be the only his own idea, and so I think it carries more of Carnegie's actual spirit

[10:17] along with the actual money that went to set it up, and as I mentioned to some folks

[10:23] earlier, in our 116th year, we continue to do the work, certainly in the original spirit

[10:29] and in much the same way as it was set up to do all those years ago, and now we're more

[10:34] than 10,000 heroes in, and the interesting thing is that there couldn't be more diversity

[10:40] in terms of our heroes, the people that we recognize, they come from all different locks

[10:43] of life.

[10:44] But there are some really common threads that you see.

[10:47] I mentioned to Angela earlier, they're a very humble group, almost to a person, they're

[10:54] very humble.

[10:55] They don't think that what they did was as good as maybe other rescues are deserving.

[10:59] We're here to tell you that that's not the case.

[11:01] And we're here to tell you that what you did made a difference.

[11:03] And it's important that other people hear about it.

[11:05] Because if we keep these stories to ourselves, then we diminish the impact of what Kornegi

[11:11] had envisioned and the acts of people like our Archangelo on our society.

[11:15] So very, very special work that we do, we're honored to do it.

[11:20] I would say that a couple of things that highlight 20% of our awards are made posthumously,

[11:27] so the rescuer loses his or her life in the attempt.

[11:29] And, you know, first responders are eligible for our award, please firemen and other first responders.

[11:37] And so we look at that as a very special category of Trinity Europe because they are eligible

[11:41] for our award.

[11:43] In cases where they go above and beyond, we say call it duty as a pretty general attorney,

[11:47] but what they would be expected to do based on training and protection to themselves.

[11:53] else. Outside of protection and equipment and training, they really act as a civilian,

[12:00] and that's what our award is all about.

[12:04] You know, we live in a very dangerous world, as

[12:07] we all know, and we probably focus a little more on the negative than the positive. So positive

[12:10] focus is what we're all about as well. And I think as well as I think Yadur Karnigee thought

[12:17] that, you know, it takes common citizens among us. It takes our friends and neighbors in

[12:22] in some cases to act heroically and make a difference.

[12:25] He wasn't trying to create heroism through his award.

[12:28] He knew that was impossible, that heroism wasn't pulsed,

[12:31] but he wanted to make sure that it was rewarded when it happened.

[12:34] And he also wanted to make sure that, you know, it said in the video,

[12:38] neither heroes nor their dependents in cases where they're disabled or killed,

[12:42] should suffer as a result of their selfless act on behalf of another human being.

[12:46] And, you know, people talk a lot, and I can't sure you'll get a lot of questions

[12:50] about your act in the metal now and in the future, and people argue about or maybe

[12:55] have some different perspectives on why people act selflessly and why they risk

[12:58] themselves to an extraordinary degree to help somebody else.

[13:02] I think it's very simple, and at least this is my own view.

[13:05] I think you can boil it down to a simple word, and that's love.

[13:08] So on every Carnegie metal, John, 15, 13, no greater law-bath man than this,

[13:13] than a man laid on his life for his friends, and that applies equally.

[13:16] So maybe more so to strangers, which in a lot of our cases we see people helping

[13:20] other people that they've never met before but you know we hear about the bad

[13:24] but I think we're all born with that natural not only ability but a

[13:26] compulsion to a lot of people even people we've never met even to the point of

[13:30] risking our own lives that you know it's it's it's been proven widely that you

[13:36] know many people believe in guardian angels in this world right but I think we're

[13:41] misdirected a lot when we look if we look to the sky for them because they may be

[13:44] standing right next to us and you know in this case you know how fitting a name

[13:49] Archangel of Luxor.

[13:52] Guardian, Archangel Liberator, you know, what a great name, what's up

[13:55] here to ask. And to pass along, I don't know what that name you grew up to be anything

[14:00] other than a heroic, so that's great. And you have such a beautiful family, it's great

[14:05] to be here today. So you serve as all Carnegie heroes serve Archangel of Luxor and inspiration

[14:10] to us all, to love our neighbors and to value them as we do ourselves. If I can ask you to just

[14:15] come forward. What I'd like to do next is just read the Commission's official account

[14:22] of your act for which we're presenting the Carnegie Medal.

[14:27] Archangel O. F. Liberator, Westview, Natalia K. Petrilyce from an attack in Coyote in

[14:32] Thornwood, New York, April 29th, 2018. Natalia 5 was at a township park with her mother and

[14:39] younger brother when a rabid Coyote approached them and bit Natalia's arm latching onto it.

[14:43] The coyote dragged Natalia to the ground where her mother grasped the coyote snout.

[14:48] The coyote briefly released Natalia but then bit the back of her neck, which was covered

[14:52] by a hooded sweatshirt.

[14:54] Natalia's mother found the coyote but could not get it to release Natalia.

[14:57] member of TORRA-31, off-duty.

[15:00] Police officer was at the park and heard screams. He ran to Natalya and grabbed the coyote

[15:04] pinning it to the ground. The coyote released Natalya who was taken to safety by her mother.

[15:10] Liberator struggled to restrain the aggressive coyote which attempted to bite him for several

[15:13] minutes. Police arrived and shot and killed the coyote. Natalya sustained a bite wound to

[15:18] our arm which required sutures. Liberator sustained scratches to his hands. Both Natalya and

[15:23] Liberator were treated for rabies, both recovered from their injuries.

[15:55] I know I was there, I know what happened obviously, but it just seems unreal, always want to apologize, I'm saying sorry, this had to be a part of your lives.

[16:12] I know I was there, I know what happened, obviously, but it just seems unreal. I always want to apologize and say sorry, this had to be a part of your lives.

[16:12] I try, my wife will attest, I don't get emotional ever, but every time I have to relive this,

[16:20] whether you believe in whatever your village background is or you just believe in coincidence,

[16:27] I wasn't supposed to be there.

[16:30] I had my own agenda that day, I was training for my Air Force PT test, it easily could have

[16:35] been my child.

[16:37] Always grateful I was there, it still seems very unreal.

[16:42] The best thing I came out of this was I got to know Talia. I got to know Logan

[16:48] her brother Casey and Steve her father. I talk a lot and have a lot of common

[16:54] both were in emergency services so they kind of know that I'm not a normal

[17:01] person and I think they're all backgrounds so they've enabled us to deal this

[17:06] best as possible. I'm glad our children have become good friends.

[17:25] It's interesting to

[17:26] you that Angelo has not made a big deal this. I think they're all super humble. I think

[17:32] that Angelo also didn't think about the act. I think for him it was completely natural

[17:36] to go help someone that was in danger. And I think he does that every day. I think if you

[17:40] look at his whole career, it's all about service, and it's all about selfless service.

[17:45] And I think he's just driven from something deep within and I look at his father and I

[17:49] think a lot of it comes from his family.

[17:52] You know, it's so wonderful to know that he's here in our village, you know, but I think

[17:59] too, it's equally great for me at the time to have a police officer do it, it seems almost

[18:04] counterintuitive.

[18:05] Of course, police officer would do it, but I feel there's so much bad press about the

[18:08] police.

[18:08] And I think it's still one in a million bad person that, you know, we hear about when

[18:13] I think that 99 percent are great, like Angelo.

[18:17] And I wish we could have a riot in our town and just, you know, just be cheering Angelo

[18:21] as the best.

[18:22] It's hard to organize, but that's our sentiments.

[18:25] And I think that the vast majority of people feel that way as well.

[18:28] So this is a great opportunity to firmly recognize you.

[18:32] And you know, not just you, but I'm behalf of your brothers and sisters, law enforcement

[18:36] and emergency services as well.

[18:38] You know, your whole career, I mean, you have so much training, it's unbelievable.

[18:43] I think now maybe you can teach a coyote class at the county.

[18:48] It seems that there's more and more than around, so I mean, you need it, but, you know, we

[18:52] couldn't be more proud of you, we couldn't be happier for your family and for the family

[18:56] that you've so impacted, you know, as a village, we're so proud of you, we just wanted to,

[19:01] you know, to jump on top of, you know, this wonderful, wonderful award.

[19:06] You know, you think about 10,000 sounds like a lot, but it's not.

[19:10] It's a very, very small number in 115 years.

[19:14] It's just, again, it's so great to be able to come back and thank you and honor you once again.

[19:19] So congratulations.

[19:30] Now, I'd like to bring up non-present talent, supervisor, cross-presenting, and please keep full of labor.

[19:48] We live in a world where the word hero is used a little too casually in my mind.

[19:55] I'm so happy that an officer in the resident of the Panama Puzzle was there to do the right thing.

[20:01] I have a tremendous amount of respect for emergency services.

[20:05] And it just does my hard good to know that you go above the mainland to do the right thing.

[20:12] As a supervisor in the Panama Puzzle, I won't read through everything

[20:15] that we already read about the heroism and all that, and what you did.

[20:20] But a little small token from the time my pleasant tomorrow will be your day.

[20:42] Well, this will conclude our ceremony today, and again, Angela, I still don't understand

[20:48] how you had the intestinal fortitude to do what you did, and it's acknowledged by everybody

[20:54] in this role.

[20:54] and we congratulate you on winning this award.

[20:58] It's a tough one to get, but an honor to receive.

[21:02] Thank you all for coming and stay safe.

Carnegie Hero Medal Presentation 7/19/2019

Agenda

Transcript