Auburn Scout recognized for 'courageous action' in saving drowning boy

While swimming in an in-ground pool during a campout, 12-year-old Boy Scout Nathan Castellano noticed that a 5-year-old boy had sunk to the bottom.

Nathan, a member of Boy Scout Troop 53, dove to the bottom, grabbed the young boy under his shoulders and pulled him out of the water. After placing him on the pool’s walkway, the boy coughed up water and gasped for air. If not for Nathan, the child could have drowned.

"Nathan’s courageous action and quick thinking exemplify our mission to prepare young people to be active and responsible citizens in their community and become leaders of tomorrow. It is remarkable and praiseworthy that Nathan, a 12-year-old boy, saved another child’s life that day,” said Mark Barbernitz, scout executive and CEO of the local Boy Scout Council in Central Massachusetts.

Barbernitz said Nathan was prepared and brave – two critical qualities that the Boy Scout Council teaches youths.

Nathan, an Auburn resident, received a Meritorious Action Award by the Heart of New England Council, Boy Scouts of America, during the Heart of New England Council’s Annual Awards Dinner last week.

The incident took place in September while Troop 53 held an overnight campout at Pine Acres Campground in Oakham.

During the campout, a group of Scouts was swimming in the pool while a 5-year-old entered at the shallow end. While moving toward the Scouts in the deeper end, the 5-year-old sunk to the pool’s bottom before being rescued by Nathan.

Nathan said he doesn’t consider himself a hero. He said he simply did what he knew had to be done to save the boy from drowning.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Nathan Castellano Boy Scout Troop 53 Mark Barbernitz Meritorious Action Award