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District honors Boy Scout for saving 5-year-old

Daniel Boone Council Scout Executive Josh Christian congratulates William Richard “Liam” Zink Jr., who was honored with the Boy Scouts of America Lifesaving Honor Medal.

The Terrora District honored a Brevard Boy Scout who rescued a 5-year-old boy caught in a swift current and thanked adult leaders who guide Scouts in Henderson and Transylvania counties during its annual Leadership Recognition Banquet at Trinity Presbyterian Church.


William Richard "Liam" Zink Jr. received the Boy Scouts of America Lifesaving Honor Medal for the rescue during a family campout at Cove Creek Campground in Pisgah National Forest last May 30.
Standing above a popular sliding rock and swimming hole at Caney Bottom Creek, Liam saw the boy swept by the fast-moving current into deep water over the boy's head. The Scout, just 11 at the time, "ran down the trail near the swimming hole, jumped into the water and was able to pull the boy to safety," a nomination said. After pulling the boy to shore, Liam helped assure him.
Liam, who was 5-2 and 125 pounds at the time, is a member of Troop 703 in Brevard.
"The child's father witnessed the incident and later in the day tracked us down to let us know that Liam had saved his son's life," Liam's father, Billy Zink, said in an email. "The area he jumped into was over his head as well and his strong swimming ability and courage allowed him to pull the child to safety. Liam didn't mention the rescue to us and had the father not found us, we may not have known about the incident."
While about 4 percent of all Boy Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle, only a tiny fraction win the Honor Medal, Josh Christ, the Daniel Boone Council Scout Executive, said during the Jan. 23 Boy Scout banquet. "The Honor Medal has been around since 1923 and since that time, only 2,452 have been awarded. In 2013 alone it was 98. Less than a hundredth of a percent earn that honor medal."