Carnegie Heroes awards 19 for bravery

A Wisconsin man who lunged in front of a train to save a 3-year-old from certain death and a New York man who twice entered a burning building to rescue two little girls were among 19 people awarded Carnegie medals Monday for their courage.

Merlin Harn, 40, and his wife were driving by a railroad track on Sept. 1, 2007, in their hometown of Menasha, Wis., when they saw an unattended 3-year-old boy wandering on the tracks.

Before police arrived, the crossing lights, bells and whistles went off. Harn ran to the boy, grabbed him under the arms and carried him to safety seconds before the train passed them, its emergency brake activated.

The Carnegie Heroes Fund gave its fourth group of awards this year to 19 people who risked their own lives to save others. Some of the people died or were injured rescuing others who were drowning, being attacked or were trapped in fires.

The heroes announced bring to 92 the number of awards made in 2008 and to 9,243 the total number of awards since the Pittsburgh-based Fund’s inception in 1904. Commission President Mark Laskow stated that each of the awardees or their next of kin will also receive a financial grant. Throughout the 104 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, $31.1 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.

See the entire list of heroes here.

Another of the heroes, James Carpenter, was at his home in Gloversville, N.Y., when he noticed the house next door had gone up in flames. Running into the burning building, Carpenter made his way through dense smoke and found two girls trapped on the second floor.

He grabbed 5-year-old Chelsea and made his way out of the house with her, but her 3-year-old sister, Jocelyn, remained inside. Carpenter, 28, re-entered the burning home, ran upstairs and called for the little girl. Grabbing Jocelyn, Carpenter realized the stairs were impassable. He went into a bedroom and lowered her out the window into the arms of two men outside.

The two-fold mission of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission: To recognize persons who perform acts of heroism in civilian life in the United States and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those disabled and the dependants of those killed helping others.

We live in a heroic age, Andrew Carnegie wrote in the opening lines of the Commission’s founding Deed of Trust in 1904. Not seldom are we thrilled by deeds of heroism where men or women are injured or lose their lives in attempting to preserve or rescue their fellows.

Those who are selected for recognition by the Commission are awarded the CARNEGIE MEDAL, and they, or their survivors, become eligible for financial considerations, including one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance. To date, more than 9,000 medals have been awarded, the recipients selected from more than 80,000 nominees. About 20 percent of the medals are awarded posthumously.  Awardees are announced five times a year, following meetings of the Commission.

Among the other heroes was Walter Rosenthal, 58, of Toms Place, Calif. He died trying to save James J. Juarez and John S. McAndrews from suffocation after they were buried by snow at a resort in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., on April 6, 2006.

Steel baron Andrew Carnegie launched the hero fund in 1904 after hearing about rescue stories from a mine disaster that had killed 181 people. Since then, $31.1 million has been awarded to 9,243 people. Each recipient, or their heirs, receives $6,000 and a medal.

2008 CNN Heroes airs Thanksgiving night

Singer Christina Aguilera joins fellow Grammy Award winners Alicia Keys and John Legend for “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” airing Thanksgiving night on CNN.

The show, taped before an audience of more than 2,000 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, pays tribute to the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008.

Liz McCartney, dedicated to helping survivors of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their homes, has been named the 2008 CNN Hero of the Year.

McCartney, of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, received the honor at Saturday night’s taping of “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.” The telecast airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Thanksgiving on the global networks of CNN.

McCartney, who will receive $100,000 to continue her work just outside New Orleans, was selected from among the top 10 CNN Heroes after six weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 1 million votes were cast.

“To the country and the world, I ask you to please join us,” McCartney said. “Together we can continue to rebuild families’ homes and lives. … If you join us, we’ll be unstoppable.”

Hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” features moving musical performances by Aguilera, Keys and Legend.