Scouts honor: North Strabane boy earns Medal of Merit for helping to save father
Courtesy Boy Scouts of America Laurel Highlands Council
Joey Barnes, center, with his parents, Doug and Melissa Barnes, pose for a photo after receiving the prestigious Boy Scouts of America Medal of Merit at a ceremony on Saturday. Joey, 12, played an important role in providing first aid after his father suffered a life-threatening injury.
Courtesy Boy Scouts of America Laurel Highlands Council
Joey Barnes, 12, displays his Medal of Merit, a national Boy Scouts of America award that is given to youths who “performed an act of service of rare/exceptional character.”
Courtesy Boy Scouts of America Laurel Highlands Council
Joey Barnes, a Boy Scout with Pack 1305 of Anawanna Trails District, displays his Boy Scouts Medal of Merit award.
Courtesy Boy Scouts of America Laurel Highlands Council
Joey Barnes, 12, of North Strabane Township, recently received the Boy Scouts Medal of Honor for helping to save his father, who was seriously injured in an accident in the family’s backyard in January 2020.
Courtesy Boy Scouts of America Laurel Highlands Council
Joey Barnes of North Strabane Township received the Medal of Merit for helping save his father following an accident in January 2020.
Courtesy of Melissa Barnes
Joey Barnes, 12, who helped rescue his father, Doug, following an accident in their backyard in January 2020, was presented a T-shirt by North Strabane Township firefighters.
More than a year after helping to save his father’s life following an accident in their backyard, a 12-year-old North Strabane Township youth received a national award.
Joey Barnes was presented with the Medal of Merit – one of the Boy Scouts of America’s most prestigious awards – during a special ceremony Saturday at a Boy Scouts of America Laurel Highlands Council ceremony in North Huntington.
The Medal of Merit is presented to youths who “perform acts of service that reflect an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others,” including life-saving acts.
Roughly 100 Medals of Merit are awarded each year, and the Laurel Highlands Council hadn’t issued the medal in several years.
North Strabane Township firefighters – who immediately became fans of Joey – wanted his efforts to be recognized, so they submitted an application for the medal to the Boy Scouts describing what transpired on Jan. 11, 2020.
“Had Joey not taken those actions, the patient’s outcome would have been completely different,” said Capt. Tim Liedl. “He did everything he was supposed to do.”
On a mild Saturday, Joey’s father, Doug, was chopping firewood while his mother, Melissa, ran errands. Doug accidentally hit the top of his foot with the axe, which penetrated a half-inch, cutting a tendon, breaking a bone, and resulting in severe blood loss.
Doug, a Cubmaster, teaches first-aid and laughingly noted, “It’s ironic that the guy who teaches (Scouts) safety and first-aid is the guy who cut his foot.”
Joey, a Boy Scout with Pack 1305 of Anawanna Trails District, had recently learned first-aid techniques. He and his father applied pressure to the wound using a box of cloth rags that Doug kept in the garage.
Joey also rounded up his three younger siblings, then 9, 6, and 2, and took them inside, then went back to tend to his father, who had gone into shock.
“Obviously, when something like that happens, your adrenaline kind of spikes. Joey was helping me and at some point I wasn’t able to (administer first-aid) and Joey was right there, talking to me, keeping me lucid. I was losing quite a bit of blood,” recalled Doug. “He kept pressure on the wound and he was calm, and he helped me stay calm.”
Doug was taken to AHN Canonsburg Hospital and transferred to AHN Allegheny General Hospital. He later underwent surgery and went through physical therapy.
Liedl marveled at Joey’s presence of mind.
“When we got there, Joey was calm, cool and collected, holding direct pressure on the foot,” he said.
The firefighters were so impressed by Joey’s calmness during the medical emergency that they returned later that day to bring him a fire department T-shirt.
“He was absolutely fantastic. Typically, we don’t get a lot of young people who follow through like he did. He was so calm,” said Liedl.
Melissa Barnes said she and Doug were proud of Joey, and that his actions that day were not out of character.
Joey, a student at North Strabane Intermediate School, was modest about his heroic act.
“I’m glad that I was home to help and relieved that Dad was OK after the accident,” said Joey. “It’s an honor to receive this award.”