Big save for little hero from Monticello

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Big save for little hero from Monticello

 

http://www.themonroetimes.com/o0930psc.htm

 

Published Friday, September 30, 2005 10:41:40 AM Central Time

 

By Mike Leverton of the Times

 

MONTICELLO -- Not many 10-year-olds are called a "hero" whose actions are "legendary."

 

But Ashton Crouch has.

 

Crouch, 10, of Monticello got top honors during a Cub Scout award ceremony Thursday. He was awarded the honor medal, one of the highest honors a scout can receive, for saving the life of a girl who fell through the ice earlier this year.

 

During an Easter egg hunt in Monticello on March 26, 2005, a girl fell through the ice on Lake Montesian while fetching an egg. Crouch, who had received Red Cross Basic Aid Training, raced out to the girl and extended his leg to her. She was able to pull herself out of the water to safety.

 

Crouch said the water there probably was 25 feet deep.

 

"If she would have gone down underneath she would have froze," Crouch said. "She couldn't touch."

 

When he saw the girl fall through the ice, Crouch remembered the training he had received: "When somebody is drowning you stick out something long and sturdy to pull themselves in with."

 

When Ashton's mother, Jill Crouch, came to pick him up at the end of the day, he asked her not be angry because he was wet.

 

"He told me that he helped pull (the girl) out of the water," Crouch said. "He told me, but it didn't sound serious. It wasn't until quite a while after that that I found it was a big deal."

 

John Inman of Monroe, representing the Blackhawk Area Boy Scout Council, presented Crouch with the Honor Award for displaying "unusual heroism to save another person's life at considerable risk to himself."

 

The award was just one of several Crouch received at Thursday's ceremony. He also received a plaque and certificate from the American Red Cross, signed by President George W. Bush, and a plaque signed by Gov. Jim Doyle.

 

"I met Ashton last summer at a camp," Inman said. "I've never seen a boy so calm after doing something like saving another person's life. He's extremely modest about it. Ashton's the type of person that we believe will become the leaders in our communities."

 

While receiving each of his awards, Crouch simply smiled as he studiously looked over each one as his proud parents, Alan and Jill Crouch, and sister, Kalley Joe, stood nearby.

 

"I only expected one little thing (tonight)," Ashton said.

 

The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America present four levels of medals for service toward others. The highest of those is the honor medal, for saving another's life at the extreme risk of one's own life.

 

Amy Anderson of Cub Scout Pack 848 in New Glarus, said the Boy Scouts pushed emergency preparedness and training a little harder after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "The purpose of the Red Cross training is to make them functional in their communities in a time of emergency, whether on a small scale or a grand scale."

 

State Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, called Crouch's actions "legendary." Davis presented a plaque and certificate signed by Doyle.

 

Crouch said he never expected to have to use the training he received. But all involved are thankful he did.

 

Mike Leverton can be reached at

 

mleverton@themonroetimes.com

 

[photo caption]

 

Ashton Crouch, 10, shows his great-grandmother, Florence Crouch, Boy Scout medals he received for saving the life of a Monticello girl. On March 26, 2005, he pulled a girl who had fallen through the ice on Lake Montesian to safety. Crouch was recognized at an awards ceremony Thursday night, receiving awards from the American Red Cross, the National Boy Scouts of America Council and Gov. Jim Doyle.

Times photo: Mike Leverton