An Alaskan man received the second-highest civilian honor from the US Coast Guard for saving a girl from drowning as children more than 20 years ago.
According to Anchorage Daily News, George Lambert received a silver medal at the rescue in Samar Saturday for saving Pamela Smith.
Lambert and Smith were part of a group swimming on a sandbank near Kotzebue in northwestern Alaska in 1998 at the age of 10.
Coast Guard Lt Cmdr. Jonathan Dale led a three-year campaign to honor Lambert.
The award was presented by Coast Guard Rear Admiral Matthew Bell Jr. at a ceremony.
