HERMITAGE – For his acts of selflessness and bravery at the Las Vegas shooting earlier this month, Corry Fenton was presented with a proclamation at Wednesday night’s city commissioner’ meeting.
“It’s truly heroic and selfless,” said William J. Moder III, commissioners president. “We’re proud and honored to recognize him.”
Fenton and his family were close to the stage, enjoying the last day of an outdoor country music festival on Oct. 1 when bullets started to “fall from the sky,” as described by his wife, Carol.
When they realized that the “pops” they were hearing were rapid machine gun fire, Fenton rushed his family to safety under the stage.
But then he turned around, jumped a fence and began dragging and carrying strangers to safety.
As her husband kicked into paramedic mode, Carol listened to the shooting from under the stage. She also watched people drop to the ground.
Corry Fenton admitted feeling a little awkward over the attention paid to his heroism. He credited his training and experience working with law enforcement officers and other emergency medical professionals.
“I was just doing my job,” he said after the presentation. “I wasn’t trying to be a hero.”
But the commissioners decided Corry deserved special recognition.
“Not only did he protect his family,” Moder said. “But he selflessly went back in to protect people from the murderous mayhem.”
As a paramedic, emergency room worker and volunteer at four Mercer County fire departments, Corry’s instincts kicked in.
“This is an exemplary behavior on behalf of a citizen,” Moder said. “He just did what was right.”
A proclamation is a document that goes in the permanent records of the city, Moder said. The special recognition happens when a citizen steps forward and does something extraordinary, he said.
“This is truly something,” Moder said. “Ernest Hemingway said ‘Courage is grace under pressure,’ and this sure fits that.”
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