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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Ramon Antonio Vargas

North Carolina father and son receive hero awards for saving man from burning car

A young cadet holds a commendation surrounded by higher-ranking officers in a hall
Larry Pickett Jr receives the US army’s soldier’s medal at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, on 12 March 2026. Photograph: Kyle Osterhoudt/USMA

A North Carolina man who helped his son – a player for the US army academy college football team – pull a wrecked car’s driver out of the vehicle moments before it burst into flames has earned the highest honor for civilian heroism in the United States and Canada.

Larry Pickett Sr earned the Carnegie medal for heroism for a daring rescue alongside his son, Larry Pickett Jr, on 31 August 2025 outside Fort Montgomery, New York, that was captured in headline-grabbing cellphone video, according to a recent announcement from the non-profit organization that administers the award.

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