Pair of FDNY firefighters receive Medal of Valor from President Joe Biden
WASHINGTON (WABC) -- Two members of the FDNY were awarded the Presidential Medal of Valor on Friday.
President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to military recipients who displayed heroism and self-sacrifice in combat and the Medal of Valor to first responders who put their own lives at risk to save others.
Lt. John Vanderstar, an FDNY firefighter, received the Medal of Valor for his heroics back in Oct. 23, 2022, when he raced through raging flames in a Bronx apartment to rescue a mother and daughter who were trapped in a fire in a back bedroom.
Separately, FDNY firefighter Brendan Gaffney was also being honored after rushing into a burning building in Inwood twice, first to save an unconscious child, and again, to save a pregnant woman.
President Biden also awarded six others the Medal of Valor, including the law enforcement officials who responded to a shooter who killed six people on March 27, 2023, at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, and Sgt. Tu Tran of the Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department. Tran swam 30 feet (9 meters) into a frigid pond to rescue a woman from a submerging vehicle.
The recipients of the Medal of Honor are Korean War and Vietnam War veterans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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