It’s appropriate for the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission to announce its most recent group of awardees during the holiday season because there’s no greater manifestation of the spirit of giving than risking one’s life for another.

Following a tradition begun in 1904 by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the commission recently honored two Canadians and 16 Americans, including two from Ohiopyle in Fayette County, for acts of heroism that ranged from helping police officers in trouble to rescuing two women from the Youghiogheny River.

Three of the 18 were honored posthumously; they died in their attempts to save others.

Anyone may nominate a person for the award, which comes with a financial grant and a medal. The commission, which generally spends several months researching each nomination, only honors those who acted heroically despite having no obligation to do so. Parents generally aren’t recognized for saving their own children, for example, and first responders often are ineligible because risking their lives for others is part of the job.

Year after year, certain details repeat themselves. The awardees decide to act in a heartbeat, often without making adequate provision for their own safety. Such was the case in Ohiopyle on June 26, 2017, when Eric Martin and Patrick Nolan McCarty, veteran whitewater kayakers, rushed to save two women whose raft had overturned and become stuck on a bridge pier in swift water.

The two grabbed kayaks and launched themselves into the river without the crucial safety devices that keep water from filling the spaces around their seats. As Mr. Martin reached the raft, one woman grabbed onto his kayak. The raft broke free of the pier and drifted toward a 20-foot waterfall with the other woman still aboard. Mr. McCarty paddled ahead of the raft and steered it to the riverbank, then helped Mr. Martin, whose kayak had become grounded on a rock ledge, get the first woman to safety.

Humility is another trait the Carnegie heroes often have in common, with Mr. Martin telling the Post-Gazette that “a lot of river guys in town could have done what we did.”

Most remarkable, perhaps, is the sheer number of people willing to sacrifice for others. Since 1904, the commission has honored more than 10,000 heroes, and a handful even have won it twice.

First Published: December 29, 2018, 11:00 a.m.