WINDSOR JUNCTION: A mother and son from Windsor Junction have been awarded North America’s highest civilian honour for heroism.
Trisha Munroe and her son Alex are among the recipients across the U.S. and Canada to be awarded the Carnegie Medal presented by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
It is awarded to individuals from throughout the United States and Canada who risk themselves to an extraordinary degree saving or attempting to save the lives of others.
The Carnegie Medal is considered North America’s highest civilian honor for heroism.
This time, the Carnegie Hero Fund honored 17 individuals, including two dads who died saving their children from drowning, a 13-year-old boy who saved his brother and mom from an attacking dog, and three individuals, who, in separate acts, pulled people out of the paths of oncoming trains.
All the men and women recognized today, including four Canadians and 13 Americans, in acts of extraordinary heroism, risked significant injury or death, or were killed, saving or attempting to save others.
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In the case of the Munroe’s their act of heroism occurred on March 6, 2023.
Will Munroe, 8, was outside playing with his 10-year-old brother in the snow at a cul-de-sac near their house in Windsor Junction when an adult male German shepherd approached them.
The dog ultimately bit Will’s arm and thrashed him back and forth on the ground.
Will’s brother sought help and alerted their mother, elementary school teacher Trisha Munroe, 42, who left the house barefoot and in pajamas.
When she arrived, Will was on the ground and the dog had one of his arms in its mouth. Munroe sat on the dog and put her hands in its mouth in an attempt to release its hold onto him.
Also responding to the scene from the house was Will’s eldest brother Alex Munroe, 13, who saw his mother struggling to control the dog. Alex entered the street and punched the dog on the head, which caused it to release Will and allowed him to move to safety in his driveway.
The dog then bit Munroe’s right arm below the elbow as she remained seated on its back. Alex continued to punch the dog’s head, switching from a closed fist to a hammer fist, until it let go of Munroe’s right arm and then bit her left arm.
Alex again punched the dog, and it released Munroe’s other arm.
An owner of the dog then arrived on the scene and led the dog back home.
Will was taken to the hospital by ambulance after he suffered injuries to his head and arm. He was treated for punctures to his right forearm and left bicep.
Munroe was treated at the same hospital for bites to her arms and bite to her right hand. Alex recovered from a sore hand in a few days.
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This is the Hero Fund’s second award announcement for 2025. Each individual will receive the Carnegie Medal for Heroism, North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism.
Among those saved by this quarter’s Carnegie Medal recipients were six children, including a four-year-old girl who, with her grandmother, was trapped in a submerging vehicle in a Louisiana canal, and 10 adults, including a woman who was trapped on the second story of her home as floodwater moved it off of its foundation and began carrying it down a North Carolina river amid 2024’s Hurricane Helene.
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 10,510 individuals since the inception of the Pittsburgh-based Fund in 1904. Each of the recipients or their survivors will receive a financial grant.
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Throughout the 121 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, more than $45 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.
The recipients are:
Mark Anthony Batista* Teaneck, New Jersey; Kennis Steven Goodman Mullins, South Carolina; Robert Lee Piper* Blue Springs, Missouri; Michael Anthony Castaneda Perris, California; Josué Alfredo Contreras San Francisco; Aidan James Loughlin St. Catharines, Ontario; Dempsey Lavergne III Ragley, Louisiana; Justin Baird St. Catharines, Ontario; Eddie Hunnell Holly Springs, North Carolina; Roland V. Hueston III* New York; Albert Adamkoski Jr.* Mayfield, New York; Edward K. Grimmer Seattle; Trisha Munroe Windsor Junction, Nova Scotia; Michael E. Coy St. Paul Park, Minnesota; Alex Munroe Windsor Junction, Nova Scotia; Robert Hand Lewiston, Idaho; and Richie Alford* Lula, Georgia.
* Deceased
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To nominate someone for the Carnegie Medal, complete an online nomination form at carnegiehero.org or write to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, 436 Seventh Ave., Suite 1101, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.
More information on the Carnegie Medal and the history of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission can be found at Carnegiehero.org.
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