Dudley Andrews (left) was told by Russell Le Prou that many people would not have done what he did to rescue to two small boys.
Dudley Andrews (left) was told by Russell Le Prou that many people would not have done what he did to rescue to two small boys.
Army background helped man save two small boys in rough sea
Dudley Andrews knew 17 years in the army had given him the skills and discipline needed to rescue two small boys from the Tasman Sea at Waipapakauri Ramp on March 1.
But even before he entered the water, he accepted that he might not survive.
And he praised 5-year-old RexHaora Pairama and his 6-year-old cousin, Wiremu Bennett-Hati, for having the courage and will to live, and realising they had to wait for him to reach them.
"People relax when they know they are about to be rescued, and that's when they drown," he said.
Mr Andrews was speaking last week after accepting a District Commander's commendation from Superintendent Russell Le Prou at the Kaitaia police station.
Two Ngataki teenagers, Oneroa Rudolph and Jack Doyle, also received commendations after rescuing a 4-year-old boy at Houhora on December 4.
Mr Le Prou told Mr Andrews many people would not have been capable of doing what he did.
"But for your heroic actions, two boys would have drowned," he said.
