BOSTON — The Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for this year was posthumously given to a 10-year-old who attempted to save a kayaker in distress last year.
Jaydon Dancy was given the award, named for Acton-native Madeline Sweeney who died on September 11, 2001, for his bravery in in the rescue attempted at Palmer's Cove in Salem.
Jaydon, who was 10 at the time, was unable to pull the man to safety, but tried nevertheless without hesitation.
"He was just such a brave boy and so amazingly calm when he did what he did. I couldn't believe it that day,” Jaydon’s mother Michelle Dancy said.
His mother was presented with the award during the ceremony Monday morning at the state house.
Sweeney was a flight attendant on American Airlines flight 11 on September 11, 2001 when it was flown into the World Trade Center. She called her husband from the plane and calmly gave as much information about what was happening as possible.
Jaydon was hit and killed by a commuter rail train in Salem when he ran across the tracks to get to his bike in June 2017.
“I just wish he was here and I miss him so much. It's just such an honor, but it's bittersweet that he's not here,” Michelle Dancy said.
LAST YEAR:Remembering 9/11: Victims honored, local hero recognized