1982 Act of Heroism
Skutnik is a retired printing and distribution assistant for the Congressional Budget Office who is generally known for an act of heroism following the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 on January 13, 1982 in the Potomac River, Washington, DC. At the time, Skutnik was a US government office assistant. During the rescue operation of passengers from the crashed plane, one passenger, Priscilla Tirado, was too weak to grab the line dropped from a helicopter. Hundreds of people were watching, including emergency services personnel. Skutnik saw the situation, and stripped off his coat and boots and, in short sleeves, dove into the icy water and swam the 30 feet out to assist her. He succeeded in getting Tirado to the river shore, from where Tirado was subsequently taken to hospital, saving her life.
For this act, Skutnik was invited to attend the 1982 State of the Union address by US President Ronald Reagan on 26 January 1982. He was the first in what has become an annual tradition of notable people being invited to sit in the President's box at the State of the Union address. Skutnik sat next to First Lady Nancy Reagan. Reagan praised Skutnik as follows:
| “ | Just two weeks ago, in the midst of a terrible tragedy on the Potomac, we saw again the spirit of American heroism at its finest the heroism of dedicated rescue workers saving crash victims from icy waters.
And we saw the heroism of one of our young Government employees, Lenny Skutnik, who, when he saw a woman lose her grip on the helicopter line, dived into the water and dragged her to safety. |
” |
Skutnik received a standing ovation from the entire assembled audience. Since then, others who are invited into the Presidential gallery and honored in the speech have been known among the Washington press corps as Lenny Skutniks. The Presidential gallery is sometimes referred to as "The Heroes' Gallery".
Among the honors that Skutnik received for his act of heroism are the United States Coast Guard's Gold Lifesaving Medal and the Carnegie Hero Fund Medal. He received 1600 pieces of mail over several weeks after the incident, a number of them addressed to "Lenny Skutnik, Hero of the Potomac". He also received various public tributes, including two "Lenny Skutnik Days" in Mississippi on 9 February and 10 February 1982. On 3 February 1982, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia unanimously passed a resolution in praise of Skutnik's "unselfish act of bravery", with a standing ovation.
On June 4, 2010, Skutnik retired from work for the US government after 31 years of service.
Read more about this topic: Lenny Skutnik
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