Student's parents to receive posthumous hero medal during concert

November 18, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission will present a Carnegie Medal to the parents of Michael Wayne Pirie during the University of Florida Symphonic Band Concert in University Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Representatives of the commission, based in Pittsburgh, rarely present a posthumous award in person. This is the first time they will have gone to a college campus for such a presentation, and Pirie is the only UF student to have received this recognition. The medal is given in the United States and Canada to civilians who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save others.

Pirie, a former member of the UF Marching Band drumline, died attempting to save fellow UF student Grant S. Lockenbach, who also died, during a caving accident in Georgia on Feb. 12, 2011. Pirie was 18 and a freshman marketing major from Oviedo.

The UF Symphonic Band will honor Pirie right before the last number, “Angels in the Architecture.”

The concert, directed by John Watkins, is titled “Remembrances.” In addition to honoring Pirie, the concert will feature tributes to America, the American way of life, the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination (with the only piece of music specifically written to celebrate his life), as well as other pieces for Thanksgiving and to honor all those who have given their lives for others.

The concert is free and open to the public.

For more information about the commission, visit http://carnegiehero.org/.