Michael Crawley is a Conservation Hero

Conservation Cpl. Michael Crawley doesn't think of himself as a hero and would do it all over again if he had to. It's his job and what he's trained to do, but that night when he was called on to save four men trapped in a swollen river he didn't realize he was wading into the "most extreme and life-threatening" incident of his career. Crawley was called upon at night while off duty, but that didn't stop him from heading off into the woods to find the hunters in need of help. After wading for more than one mile in the water he found the men in their boat with their only option for rescue to get into the water and swim toward Crawley, so they devised a plan to rescue the men one by one. While Crawley was assisting in one transfer, a man slipped out of his life jacket and under the raging water. Crawley immediately dove into the water to save him and after numerous tries he was able to pull the panicked man out of the water and then get them all to safety on the bank of the river. While other rescue workers were standing by they could only approach the scene on the opposite side of the river and couldn't reach the men due to the hazardous conditions, so they had to retreat until the light of day. Meanwhile, Crawley continued to care for the hunters and himself, now all in danger of hypothermia, so while the men took off their wet clothes, Crawley built a fire to keep them all warm until help arrived in the morning. That rescue was not Cpl Crawley's first, but it was certainly the most difficult and dramatic. He was honored with a number of awards from his local community, including the Wilderness Hero Award by the American Red Cross. And when he's not saving lives, he's protecting the wilderness. Cpl Crawley was previously named Ranger of the Year by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Do you know someone who risked their life to save another? Nominate them for next week's AmericanTown's Hero.