By Miriam Hill
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The minute he heard that a barge had hit a duck boat last summer, sending passengers overboard, Philadelphia Detective Timothy Brooks ran from his Old City office and started pulling people from the Delaware.
He rescued a woman and her three children.
That feat led the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to announce Monday that it had chosen him, along with two others, for the group’s annual Citizen Service Before Self Honor.
“I’m a little overwhelmed by the whole thing, very humbled,” Brooks said from Clearwater, Fla., where he was watching Phillies spring training.
“I don’t think my name deserves to even be mentioned among many of the Medal of Honor recipients.”
Brooks is a member of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Bomb Disposal Unit. He also serves on the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Arson and Explosives Task Force.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, made up of the roughly 90 living recipients of the Medal of Honor, selects the award winners. The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award given to those who serve in the military. The Citizen Service Before Self Honor recognizes a similar spirit of heroism among civilians.
On July 7, a tug pushed a barge into a duck boat, sending 35 passengers and two crew members overboard. Two Hungarian tourists aboard the duck boat died.
In its announcement, the foundation said Brooks “completed multiple long-distance swims and physically secured the young children to a nearby pylon while simultaneously treading water and battling the strong river current.”
After the accident, a coincidence put Brooks back in touch with the family he rescued. His wife and the woman he rescued have the same hairdresser. The hairdresser gave Brooks’ contact information to the family, prompting the 10-year-old he had plucked from the Delaware to write to him.
“My wife and I sat at the computer reading that, and we cried like 2-year-olds,” Brooks said.
He and the other recipients will be honored at a ceremony Friday at Arlington National Cemetery.
The other honorees were:
Marie Conley of Boston, a crossing guard who in 2008 threw herself in front of a car to protect a 10-year-old boy. She later died of her injuries.
Pascal Spino of Greensburg, Pa., a doctor with his lifetime commitment to treating children, often not charging those who cannot afford health care.
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