A young West Vancouver man who came to the aid of his friend three years ago has received one of the highest decorations of bravery in Canada.
Yale Henry, 20, a West Vancouver secondary school graduate, saved his friend from a knife attack on Oct. 29, 2010. Henry was awarded the Medal of Bravery on Dec. 5 at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.
"I was in disbelief," said Henry, of the award. "It was fairly surreal, I didn't expect something like that would happen to me."
Henry and his friend were on the school's campus around 11 a.m. when the attack occurred.
"From what I know there was tension building up between my friend and the attacker, and all of us thought it was just going to be a fight," he said. "My friend wanted me down there just in case something happened, I don't want to say intimidate him, but just kind of see if we could sort out a more peaceful resolution. But as soon as we got down there, the guy started attacking my friend, we didn't have any time to talk."
Henry said that at first he thought the attacker was stabbing his friend with a pen.
"I finally realized it was a knife and I dove in there and I wrapped my arms around the guy's arms and torso, picked him up and pulled him away," said Henry. "I didn't let go until he dropped the knife."
The attacker fled the scene and was later picked up by police. Meanwhile Henry's friend lay on the ground bleeding.
"I still remember this, he said 'I think I got nicked,' turns around and his whole shirt was drenched in blood," said Henry. "So I got him to rip off his shirt, his jacket and started putting pressure on the wound that was bleeding the most, which turned out to be a sucking chest wound."
His friend's lung had been punctured and as a result of Henry immediately applying pressure to the wound, he prevented the lung from collapsing until the paramedics arrived.
The West Vancouver Police Department gave Henry the Certificate of Merit in 2011 for tending to his friend. It was the first time the award had been given. Henry also received the Canada Bravery Award from the Royal Humane Association.
The Medal of Bravery is the third highest decoration for bravery and recognizes acts of bravery in people who have risked their lives to try to save or protect another in hazardous circumstances.
Governor General David Johnston presented Henry and 38 other recipients with their bravery medals. The ceremony also included the presentation of three Stars of Courage.
"It was quite elegant, definitely one of those once-in-a-lifetime
things," said Henry. "It was amazing to hear the different stories of what people did and their brave acts. It was absolutely amazing."
