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 federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...

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 U.S. domestic passenger flight operated by Air Florida from Washington National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, with an inter ...

into the frozen

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Aug ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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—dove 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 First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in Ne ...

; 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 law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, ...

's Gold Lifesaving Medal, 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 d ...

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