Medal Recipient Search
Dustin Kirkpatrick, Oregon County Ambulance District
2025 Class
Awarded on: 09/15/2026
Medal of Valor
On January 24, 2025, Chief Paramedic Kirkpatrick was first on the scene of a house fire in Koshkonong, with persons trapped. The house was fully engulfed and an elderly man on the porch stated his wife was trapped inside. Kirkpatrick pulled the man to safety and began searching for the wife without time to don his protective gear. He crawled into the smoke-filled, zero-visibility structure and located the elderly woman face down on the floor. He dragged the unresponsive woman from the center of the house. A firefighter helped him move the victim into the yard. An Oregon County ambulance had now arrived, and Kirkpatrick instructed the team to treat the elderly man while he treated the elderly woman, who was barely breathing. He began life-saving care, intubating the woman and establishing vascular access to administer critical medications. His intervention stabilized the victim’s oxygen levels before she was transported to the hospital, where she recovered. Kirkpatrick acted selflessly, entering a burning home without protective equipment and delivering expert medical care to save the woman’s life.
Justin D. Hedrick, Missouri State Highway Patrol
2025 Class
Awarded on: 09/15/2026
Medal of Valor
On the night of February 23, 2025, Trooper Hedrick was in South St. Louis County when he heard radio traffic that a sedan was traveling south in the northbound lanes of I-55. Hedrick entered northbound I-55 from Butler Hill Road and observed the sedan approaching him traveling in the wrong direction. He activated his lights and siren and used his air horn to attempt to slow down the wrong-way driver. He then reduced his own speed and, as the vehicle was about to pass him, intentionally struck the driver side of the wrong-way vehicle with the front of his patrol car. The maneuver forced the wrong-way vehicle off the roadway and disabled both vehicles. The driver was arrested for DWI. Trooper Hedrick suffered a concussion and injured wrist. Trooper Hedrick selflessly and unhesitatingly placed himself directly in the path of an out of control wrecking ball to protect the public.
Matthew Schneider, Troy Police Department
2025 Class
Awarded on: 09/15/2026
Medal of Valor
At about 5:40 p.m. on May 10, 2025, K-9 Officer Schneider was heading home from his shift when he heard a call for a high-speed crash with a trapped driver on Old Moscow Mills Road. He was first on the scene where a car had struck a large tree. The vehicle was engulfed in flames. The closed doors were inoperable. Understanding the imminent danger to the 23-year-old trapped victim who was in and out of consciousness, Schneider disregarded his own safety, relentlessly fighting heat and flames to access the cabin. He eventually forced open the passenger door, extracted the driver, and dragged him to safety. EMS began administering critical care to the driver who had sustained serious injuries and burns. The victim was flown to a hospital. Schneider’s valiant intervention and split-second decision making in the face of imminent danger saved the victim’s life.
Dustin W. Harrison, Missouri State Highway Patrol
2025 Class
Awarded on: 09/15/2026
Medal of Valor
On October 12, 2025, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Harrison and Randolph County Deputy Sheriff Nate West were searching for a person of interest in a homicide investigation as part of an Operation Relentless Pursuit investigation. They received consent to search a Monroe County home occupied by family members of the person of interest. Understanding the danger and the need to make split-second decisions, they entered the house and encountered the person of interest armed with a handgun. He refused to follow the officers’ commands to drop his weapon and then fired upon Harrison and West, seriously wounding West. Trooper Harrison advanced toward the gunman while returning fire without regard for his personal safety, intent on protecting Deputy West. Deputy West also returned fire, despite being wounded. Trooper Harrison assisted Deputy West out of the house and provided medical treatment. The Moberly Police Department SWAT team later entered the residence and found the gunman deceased. Trooper Harrison exhibited exceptional courage and professionalism in an extremely dangerous close quarters combat environment, protecting Deputy West, himself, and the community.
Zebulon H. Hoffman, Linn Fire Protection District
2025 Class
Awarded on: 09/15/2026
Medal of Valor
On October 21, 2025, Firefighter Hoffman, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s primary fixed wing pilot, was training to operate MDC’s helicopter. He and his instructor pilot were conducting training maneuvers at the Springfield Downtown Airport when the helicopter lost power and crash landed, flipping onto its left side. Despite suffering a crushed jaw and fractured vertebrae, Hoffman freed himself, escaped through the shattered windshield and immediately attempted to rescue his colleague. Ignoring his own pain, he repeatedly tried to lift the wreckage until he managed to free the instructor’s pinned left arm. Emergency responders arrived after 35 minutes. Both men were hospitalized for three weeks, with Hoffman undergoing emergency trauma care and extensive reconstructive surgery. His heroic disregard for his own critical injuries to extricate his trapped colleague was a courageous act of resilience and perseverance.
Christopher A. Winter, Missouri State Highway Patrol
2025 Class
Awarded on: 09/15/2026
Medal of Valor
Just before 1 a.m. on December 7, 2025, Corporal Winter spotted a wrong-way driver traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of U.S. 54 in Cole County. Winter notified Troop F, activated his emergency lights and siren and attempted to position his vehicle to stop the wrong-way driver. When the driver continued past him in the wrong direction, Winter had Troop F notify Jefferson City Police of the need for assistance, entered the eastbound lanes of Highway 54, drove parallel with the wrong way driver, running his lights and siren to warn oncoming drivers. Winter then accelerated to the next exit to attempt to cut off the driver again, but she was moving too fast. He re-entered eastbound Highway 54, again utilizing his lights and siren to warn multiple oncoming vehicles. Winter then overtook the wrong-way driver again, this time joined by several Jefferson City Police officers. After they crossed the Missouri River Bridge, Winter used a median crossover to enter westbound traffic. Positioning himself in the center lane, he shone his spotlight at the wrong-way driver. She slowed but attempted to pass Winter’s vehicle, presenting further danger to the public. Winter then executed a precise, glancing strike to the front driver’s side door area, bringing the vehicle to a stop. He then placed the uninjured driver under arrest for DWI. Over the course of just six minutes, Corporal Winter repeatedly put himself at risk and then improvised and successfully executed a maneuver for which there was no training, all to protect the public.
Kevin Drury, St. Charles Fire Department and Dennis O’Leary, St. Charles Police Department
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
At about 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2024, Firefighter/Paramedic Drury was in his personal vehicle traveling to work at St. Charles Fire Department Station 6 for that duty day. Drury received a phone alert that the ambulance he would be working on that day had just been dispatched for a fire call. The fire was very close to his route. When he next saw in the dispatch notes that there were possibly two victims trapped, he rerouted to the fire. As he pulled up to the address, St. Charles Police Officer O’Leary was sprinting to the mobile home. Drury and O’Leary opened the unlocked front door to heavy smoke and near-zero visibility. The door would not fully open because of hoarder conditions. Drury crouched low, crawled about four feet into the room and yelled “Fire department, call out.” A man and woman responded that they were in a back bedroom. Drury stepped back and shared the information with Officer O’Leary, who was using his flashlight to attempt to illuminate a path for Drury. Drury attempted to get farther into the house in a prone position to minimize smoke and heat exposure. This time he got six feet in before encountering an overturned couch. From his position on the floor, he attempted to push the couch out of the way, but the hoarder conditions prevented it. He retreated to the door for air, where O’Leary, with the flashlight, was also struggling to breathe. Drury repeatedly crawled in and out as he moved debris and then went out for air as conditions deteriorated – increased heat, smoke, and there was now active fire in the front room. Finally, aided by O’Leary’s light, Drury was able to find a male victim lying on the floor. He pulled him by his feet toward the front door. O’Leary and other police officers got the victim onto the front porch. Medics tended to the victim and Drury went back inside and called out to the other victim. The victim called back but was disoriented. Drury had to crawl out to the porch for air. He then briefed arriving firefighters of the situation. Meanwhile Officer O’Leary had advanced inside the burning structure. He found the other victim and began pulling her out with another St. Charles Police officer. Drury assisted in getting her out of the residence. He then assisted with the woman’s care until additional ambulances arrived. Drury was later treated at a hospital and released. Both patients have made full recoveries. Without protective equipment or breathing apparatus, Drury and Officer O’Leary struggled against heat, smoke, near-zero visibility and hoarder conditions. Other than O’Leary’s flashlight they had nothing else to rely on beyond their relentless determination to save two lives.
Luke J. Buchanan and Steven D. Thompson, Independence Police Department
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
On Feb. 29, 2024, Independence Police Department dispatch received a 911 call from a neighbor advising that a sheriff’s deputy had just been shot and was down in the doorway at 1111 North Elsea Smith Road in Independence. As officers responded to the scene, dispatch determined the victim was Drexel Mack, a court officer with Jackson County Circuit Court. The first officers on the scene were Officer Cody Allen, Officer Thompson and Officer Buchanan. The Independence officers quickly planned a rescue attempt. As the officers arrived at the doorway, Officers Thompson and Buchanan provided cover while Officer Allen attempted to drag Mr. Mack to safety. Shots were immediately fired from inside the residence, striking Officer Allen. Thompson and Buchanan returned fire as they sought cover. While awaiting additional assistance, Buchanan realized he had been shot in the stomach beneath his ballistic vest; Thompson realized he had been grazed in the arm. Within minutes, officers surrounded the residence, and a SWAT team made entry and engaged the gunman, with several shots being fired. A suspect was eventually taken into custody. Officer Allen and Court Officer Drexel Mack were transported to a hospital but succumbed to their wounds. Officers Thompson and Buchanan each recovered. Officers Allen, Thompson and Buchanan acted heroically that day. They willingly risked their own lives in an attempt to save the life of Mr. Mack. Officer Buchanan medically retired because of his injuries.
Ben Grote and Jason Miller, Greene County Sheriff’s Office
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
On June 17, 2024, members of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit responded to a house to arrest a man wanted for drug trafficking. Investigator Miller was assigned to the back of the residence as two deputies made contact with the suspect at the front door. Shortly after the suspect closed the front door, the back door opened, and Investigator Miller instructed a man and a woman to exit the residence. Sergeant Grote was arriving on the scene and assisted Miller. As the two deputies questioned the male and female witnesses about anyone else being in the residence and the presence of weapons, shots were fired in rapid succession from inside the residence. This was followed by several shots out of the front of the house and then several more rounds fired out the back. Sergeant Grote was struck by shattering glass. Miller and Grote instructed the two witnesses to take cover behind a truck. The woman cried hysterically and collapsed. Miller pulled the woman behind the truck for cover. Miller and Grote flanked the two witnesses to provide additional protection. Soon after, a gunman exited the residence and walked in the direction of Miller, Grote and the two witnesses, firing from a short-barrel AR-15 pistol. Miller and Grote returned fire, driving the gunman back. Miller was struck in the abdomen but was protected by his ballistic vest. He and Grote continued returning fire and drove the gunman back into the house. Miller and Grote then evacuated the two witnesses to a location where they were safe from the gunman. Miller was transported to a hospital for medical evaluation. Negotiators talked the gunman into surrendering and he was taken into custody. In a highly dangerous and dynamic situation, while repeatedly under fire from a heavily armed gunman, Sergeant Grote and Investigator Miller calmly and courageously responded, focused on protecting the witnesses regardless of the danger to themselves.
Arron Fredrickson, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
At about 8 a.m. on July 8, 2024, Sheriff Fredrickson received a phone call from Shelby County Commissioner Terry Mefford that an SUV was traveling at about 5 m.p.h. on U.S. 36. The sheriff asked Mefford to follow the vehicle and immediately went to investigate. Upon arriving at a one-vehicle crash scene just east of Lentner, the sheriff found Mefford, and another good Samaritan had just failed to keep the vehicle from falling into a flooded ditch. The sheriff and the other good Samaritan, Kenton Parsons descended a steep embankment and found an overturned SUV in knee-deep water. The driver’s head was submerged in the water, and she was not breathing. Sheriff Fredrickson used a crowbar to break out two windows and he and Parsons pulled the 62-year-old woman from the vehicle. The sheriff began CPR, and the driver regained a pulse and began breathing again. She has made a full recovery. From the moment Sheriff Fredrickson received a call about a slow-moving vehicle, he displayed leadership and professionalism and acted with urgency. His actions helped save a life on July 8, 2024.