Scout awarded The Honor Medal for saving young brother’s life

Scout awarded The Honor Medal for saving young brother's life
On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Brandon Turner was awarded The Honor Medal by the Boy Scouts of America for saving the life of his 2-year-old brother, Jessie Barentine. As his mother's car plunged toward a lake near her Piedmont home, Turner pulled his brother to his chest, jumped out of the passenger door and spun around to land on his back. Although the car was totalled, both boys escaped unharmed. Ledger Staff Writer

If you think a 12-year-old is too young to be called a hero, then you haven't met Brandon Turner.

On Sunday, the Granard Middle School student was awarded The Honor Medal from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), an achievement more rare than earning the rank of Eagle Scout.

"The medal symbolizes that you have put yourself at risk to save the life of someone else," Turner said. "I got it for saving my little brother, Jessie Barentine."

So how did it happen?

"I was staying with my mom at her house in Piedmont and she was getting ready to take me home to my dad's house here in Gaffney," Turner recalled. "She left me in the car with my brother, who was one year old at the time, and went back inside to get her keys. The car was in park, but for some reason, the parking mechanism broke and we started rolling down the hill in the back yard. My mom's back yard is pretty steep. About two yards into it, I grabbed my brother, opened the door and fell backwards out of the car. I kept Jessie close to my chest and tried to spin around and land on my back. It sort of worked, and we were both okay."

But, Turner's mother didn't know the boys were out of the vehicle. As the car plummeted down the hill, she could only watch from the house.

"My mom was screaming and crying," Turner said. "The car, like, rolled out of the yard, jumped a little gully, sideswiped a bunch of trees, knocked over a basketball goal and hit some poles, then it finally rolled out across a road and ended up in a lake. My mom was really upset and then when I walked up holding Jessie in my arms I thought she was going to explode. She was just all surprised and crying her eyes out. She grabbed us and hugged us."

Even after being hauled up out of the lake, the car's gearshift was still in park.

"Somehow, the parking just failed," said Turner.

Although he has been involved in Scouting for the past seven years, much of that time was spent in organizations like Cub Scouts. Turner's current rank is Tenderfoot, the first rank in the BSA.

After Brandon told his father about the incident, his Scoutmaster, Scott Blanton, got wind of the incident and submitted it to a local board of BSA officials for review.

"They thought it was a great story and thought he was a good candidate for recognition," said Turner's father, Brian Turner. "They submitted it to the national review in Texas and sure enough they decided to award the medal to Brandon. Actually, his Scoutmaster kind of kept him in the dark about what he had won until this past Sunday when he was recognized in front of the whole church at First Baptist of Gaffney."

Brian is very proud of his son, and proud of his recounting the story.

"When Brandon told my boss about what had happened, he asked Brandon, 'What made you think to grab your brother?' and his response was incredible," Brian Turner said.

"I just told him, I knew that God had ahold of me, so I'd better turn around and grab my brother," Brandon said. "I mean, everyone's acting like I'm a big hero, but at the time I didn't know what was going to happen to the car. I'd do it all over again. If I hadn't grabbed my brother, I would have had to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. I'm glad I did."