Norm McDonald, Chris Anderson and pilot Bud Roberts were given heroism awards at a Tuesday ceremony at the state's forestry headquarters in Palmer.
On Aug. 14, Jennifer Buswell, 24, was filling a water tank at the river, while her sons waited in the family's pickup truck. The riverbank collapsed beneath the truck and sent the family into the water.
Buswell grabbed 2-year-old Ryan through the driver's side window but couldn't get to her 3-year-old, Clifford, according to reports from the Alaska State Troopers.
McDonald, Anderson and pilot Roberts rescued Buswell and Ryan in a state forestry helicopter as mother and son stood waist-deep in the water, balanced on top of a submerged trailer.
As McDonald recalled the rescue, he stepped out onto one of the helicopter's skids and reached for Ryan. His mother initially didn't want to let him go, he said.
``At first she was really reluctant,'' he said. ``I grabbed the back of the Carhartt overalls he was wearing ... He was so brave. He was probably the least rattled of any of us.''
With Ryan safely inside, the helicopter dropped the boy off on a gravel bar a few hundred yards away. The crew returned for Buswell, then searched the river for Clifford before returning running low on fuel.
Clifford's body was found hours later, about a mile and half away.
``Tragically, my grandson did lose his life, but I do have my daughter and one grandson alive today,'' Buswell's father, Bob Hicks, said at Tuesday's ceremony. ``If it wasn't for the effort of the Department of Forestry crew members doing such a fantastic job, I wouldn't have those people.
``There's no words that can express that gratitude,'' said Hicks, assistant Butte fire chief who lives on Knik River Road.
Hicks, his wife, and a few others at the ceremony wore photos of Clifford made into round pins.
McDonald was the only member of the team in town for the ceremony. Roberts and Anderson both were away, fighting fires in other parts of the state. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the borough's Fire Chiefs Association presented the men with heroism awards.
``This is over and above what we'd normally expect,'' said Ken Bullman, the forestry department's mattes area forester. ``These are men of action. They had a plan, they executed it safely. They helped people ... that's what we do as firefighters.''
