Martin Leonard Skutnik III (born 1953 in Mississippi, known as Lenny)Shereikis, Richard, "Heroes Don't Need Zip Codes: Lenny Skutnik - Accidental Hero", in ''The Hero in Transition'' (Ray B. Browne, Marshall W. Fishwick, editors). Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1983 (), pp. 107-114. is a retired employee of the United States

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. I ...

who, on January 13, 1982, saved the life of Priscilla Tirado following the crash of

Air Florida Flight 90 Air Florida Flight 90 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated from Washington National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, with an intermediate stopover at T ...

into the frozen

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

As passengers were being rescued, Tirado was too weak to take hold of the line dropped from a helicopter. Skutnik, one of hundreds of bystanders, dived into the icy water and brought her to the river bank. U.S. President Ronald Reagan invited Skutnik to attend the 1982 State of the Union address on January 26, 1982, where he sat next to First Lady

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

; Reagan praised Skutnik as manifesting "the spirit of American heroism at its finest". Since then, others invited to sit in the Presidential gallery and honored in the president's speech have often been called '' Lenny Skutniks''. Skutnik received the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

Gold Lifesaving Medal The Gold Lifesaving Medal and Silver Lifesaving Medal are U.S. decorations issued by the United States Coast Guard. The awards were established by Act of Congress, 20 June 1874; later authorized by . These decorations are two of the oldest me ...

, the

Carnegie Hero Fund The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, also known as Carnegie Hero Fund, was established to recognize persons who perform extraordinary acts of heroism in civilian life in the United States and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those ...

Medal, and various other tributes. In 2010 he retired from his position as a printing and distribution assistant for the Congressional Budget Office. John M. Spratt, Jr., ''Recognizing Martin Leonard Skutnik'',

References

External links

1982 State of the Union speech

"The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2009 to 2019". Congress of the United States: Congressional Budget Office, January 2009.

Video of every American named in a State of the Union, 1982-2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skutnik, Lenny 1953 births History of Washington, D.C. Living people American civil servants People from Mississippi Recipients of the Gold Lifesaving Medal Ronald Reagan

See also

References

External links