Honorees Chosen from Hundreds of Nominees Nationwide

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society & Foundation, which represent our nation's greatest war heroes, name the top four unsung citizen heroes in a nationwide campaign. These four heroes have been chosen for going above and beyond for their fellow man in some extraordinary way—saving a life in a single instance of extreme bravery, or bettering their community with ongoing selfless service.  

The four honorees for the Citizen Service Before Self Honors (CSBSH) are:

• Father Joe Carroll, (San Diego, California) – Developed and ran a multi-faceted homeless support center offering assistance, counseling and job training, that is now modeled throughout the U.S.
• Marcos Ugarte, (Troutdale, Oregon) – 15-year-old boy who saved a younger neighbor from a burning home by climbing a ladder, pushing his way through a window and coaxing the boy to safety.
• Jesse Shaffer III and Jesse Shaffer IV, (Braithwaite, Louisiana) – During Hurricane Isaac, this father-and-son team used their boat to rescue 120 people from their flood-ravaged town after official rescues were called off.

These four honorees were chosen from a pool of 23 finalists, announced two weeks ago for the CSBSH program that collected hundreds of hero nominations from across the U.S. between September and December 2012. Medal of Honor recipients chose these brave honorees, and will present them with their awards on Medal of Honor Day (March 25, 2013) at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The complete list of CSBSH finalists, including details of their heroic stories, and more information on the CSBSH program is available at www.csbsh.org.

Nominations were made online by Members of Congress, police and fire officials, mayors, governors and ordinary citizens. Nominations for heroes surrounding the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December are being handled separately later this year.

SOURCE The Congressional Medal of Honor Society & Foundation