Sponsored by

Mail carriers honored for heroic acts          Send a link to a friend

[September 21, 2007]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saving an elderly woman whose clothing was on fire earned a mail carrier Hero of the Year honors Thursday, while others were praised for assisting a police officer, rescuing a baby from traffic and aiding an elderly man.

The annual awards for 2006 were presented by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Wayne Viger, 55, of Turner, Maine was named hero of the year.

While delivering mail in Lewiston, Maine on April 3, 2006, Viger smelled smoke and heard a smoke alarm sounding in an apartment. He opened the door to find a woman, her clothing ablaze. Viger pulled her outside, extinguished the burning clothing, and then returned to the building to alert other residents to the blaze.

In addition to the heroism awards, union president William H. Young presented the National Humanitarian of the Year award to Gary Fitch of Maplewood, Minn., a letter carrier who rode 2,800 miles across the nation on his bike this summer to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Other heroism awards went to:

• Nathaniel Roberson of McDonough, Ga., who was on his way to work when he saw a police officer struggling to subdue a man who had become unruly during a traffic stop. Roberson, who delivers mail in East Point, helped wrestle the man to the ground and kept the suspect's arms pinned behind him until backup arrived.

[to top of second column]

• Debra Hamilton of Chicago assisted an unconscious traffic victim as she was on her way to work delivering mail in Chicago's Hyde Park section. Hamilton administered CPR when no pulse was detected in the victim. The woman regained consciousness and Hamilton stayed with her until an emergency team arrived.

• Pattie Arismendez of Bakersfield, Calif., was driving on her route when she noticed a toddler wandering onto a roadway ahead while cars continued to whiz by. The carrier stopped her vehicle, jumped out, and ran to the baby standing in the street and carried the little girl back to the mail truck. After the child was reunited with her mother who lived nearby, Arismendez returned to delivering mail on her route.

___

On the Net:

National Association of Letter Carriers: http://www.nalc.org/

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

< Top Stories index

Back to top