Troop 2037 Girl Scout Abigail Kunkler of St. Henry was awarded the Medal of Honor after she saved the life of a young boy.
ST. HENRY, OH (WLIO) - A Mercer County girl scout was bestowed a rare honor Monday night following her heroic actions in the summer of 2023.
Troop 2037 Girl Scout Abigail Kunkler of St. Henry was awarded the Medal of Honor after she saved the life of a young boy. In August 2023, Abigail was at a pond for a swim party when she noticed a little boy struggling to stay afloat and submerged under the water. Without a life jacket, Abigail leaped off the dock into the water and saved the boy from drowning. After receiving her medal, we talked with Abigail about what she remembers from that day and the overall meaning of this rare honor.
"I was sort of just at a pond party. I was on the dock. I saw someone going up and down, and he was panicking when he was going up, and I just jumped in. So, this award was pretty special, and with girl scouts, they pretty much taught me if you need to spring into action, do it," says Abigail Kunkler, who received the Girl Scout Medal of Honor.
Without a life jacket, Abigail leaped off the dock into the water and saved the boy from drowning.
Officials with Girl Scouts of Western Ohio traveled to St. Henry to present Abigail's Medal of Honor, and they say that she is a role model for other girls.
"Young girls really do have a lot of courage and confidence, and when given the right support by their faith community, by their family, by their school, and by their girl scout troop, they have the ability to really jump in and put their own lives at risk and save someone else, and so it's such an honor to be able to celebrate Abigail tonight and the example that she is," says Aimée Sproles, CEO, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
Abigail is only the fourth girl in the last 15 years to receive the Medal of Honor within the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
Abigail is only the fourth girl in the last 15 years to receive the Medal of Honor within the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
