Former Neepawa resident honoured for two rescues in one day while on vacation in Cuba

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Published on Monday, April 28, 2014

By: Lanny Stewart

myWestman.ca

Former Neepawa resident Brian McRae recently had a birthday he won't soon forget.

On Thursday, April 24, the 43-year-old, who now resides in Calgary, was presented with a medal of bravery by Canadian Governor General David Johnston after saving four struggling swimmers in two separate rescues while at an all-inclusive resort in Varadero, Cuba in 2011.

"They only do like three or four ceremonies a year, so for it to fall on my birthday, that was quite something," said McRae, a firefighter, who at the time of the rescues, was at the resort to attend a fellow firefighter's wedding.

McRae vividly remembers April 6, 2011 like it was yesterday.

After a morning of spending time in the water himself, McRae noticed two new friends of his he'd made while on the trip waving at him in the water.

He would soon realize that the two men in the water were actually waving for help.

"I remember the waves being so big that day. Just everything that happened, it happened so fast," he said.

McRae wound up pulling one of the men to shore, while assisting the other man to safety.

McRae's day wasn't done however.

Hours later, he would end up noticing two more men signalling for help – this time even further out into the deep water. He once again jumped into the water and wound up pulling both men to shallow water. Once there, the men were able to walk back to shore.

"I zipped out there and zipped back in and then everything was done and it was over," said McRae. "For it to happen again later, it was like, I can't believe this is happening again.

"I just jumped into action," he continued. "I found out later they were great people. It was an honour to be able to help them that day."

Because of his courageousness on that particular day, McRae wound up getting invited to Ottawa where he spent some time at Rideau Hall, where he was honoured along with several others for their bravery.

"I was very excited and very humbled," he said. "While I was at the ceremony, I heard all the other people's stories and they were all so touching and brave. It was great to be mentioned and included in that group.

"It's just one of those days that you don't forget," he continued. "A couple of things happen and maybe my [firefighter] training kicked into action maybe and I did what I could do to help."

The medal of bravery wasn't the only piece of hardware McRae received. In 2012, he received a Royal Life Saving Society of Canada award. The award was presented to McRae by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.

McRae was born in McCreary and would later move with his family to Neepawa while he was in junior high, spending his high school years at Neepawa Collegiate before heading off to university in Winnipeg.

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