A New Century of Heroes

There are heroes who walk among us: the clam digger who rescues a man from a burning retirement home; the dancer who prevents a robber from shooting two policemen at a nightclub; the former Marine, blinded during the Korean War, who saves two women from drowning in a river. What they have in common—besides the willingness to risk their own lives to save that of a friend or a stranger—is an unwillingness to brag about their actions.

In 1904, moved by the stories of two men who died trying to rescue others in the devastating Harwick Mine Disaster that killed all but one of 180 men, Andrew Carnegie conceived of a fund to reward selfless acts of bravery and courage. Since its creation 120 years ago, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission has awarded more than 10,000 medals and distributed more than $44 million in awards, grants, tuition, and other assistance.

Published under the auspices of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, the original edition of A Century of Heroes received an award of excellence in 2005 from Communication Arts and, along with its accompanying video, remains a part of the awarding materials given to each Carnegie hero. Updated and expanded, A New Century of Heroes profiles more than 200 medal recipients: ordinary men, women, and children who undertook extraordinary acts to save the lives of others. It also reveals the tireless efforts of investigators who roamed the United States and Canada, collecting data on the hundreds of nominations received each year for consideration and conducting thousands of interviews with rescuers, witnesses, and individuals whose lives were saved. Their maps, diagrams, and marked-up photographs, many of which are included in this volume, illustrate the high standards and strict requirements imposed by the Commission to ensure that a Carnegie Medal recipient truly deserves the appellation “hero.” Only about one in ten nominees is selected for recognition.

The heroes featured in this book offer a cross-section of the thousands of honorees who have received the award. They represent only a few of the inspiring stories that uphold the Carnegie Hero Fund’s legacy, reminding us that true heroes are found, not on television or in comic strips, but in the uncommon strength that lives inside all of us.

Eric P. Zahren is President and Chair of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, Andrew Carnegie’s Pittsburgh-based foundation that recognizes civilian heroism throughout the United States and Canada.

He joined the Commission in 2015, and became its Executive Director in 2016 following a 25-year career as a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, with assignments in New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Berlin, Germany; and as Special Agent in Charge in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. He became President of the Commission in 2017 and Chair in June 2022.

A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of London, Mr. Zahren also conducted studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. He resides in Pittsburgh with his wife, Laura. They have three grown children.