Quick-thinking Santa Rosa Boy Scout honored for life-saving effort

The Boy Scouts of America doesn’t give out National Honor Medals willy-nilly. The one the organization has presented to 15-year-old Max Nunley seems richly deserved.

A child of 2 may be alive, or free of brain damage, because of Max.

Amid the swirl of activity at a birthday-swim party in Santa Rosa last Sept. 28, only the Rincon Valley Christian School freshman noticed little Seth Ruddell floating face-down in the deep end.

Max jumped in, lifted the toddler’s head from the water and screamed for help while pulling him to the edge. Someone dialed 911. Seth was blue as adults plucked him up onto the deck.

He began to breathe, but didn’t immediately regain full consciousness. Paramedics administered oxygen and rushed him to a hospital, where he fully recovered.

Max, shaken up because he thought at first that the child was dead, maintains he did only what anyone would have done. His mother, Ann, and Troop 32 scoutmaster, Ray Leonard, credit him with taking action and doing exactly what needed to be done, without hesitation.

“He’s a very good kid,” said a proud mom.