[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE HEROISM OF CHRISTOPHER SIMMONS

 Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to enter into the 
Record an amazing story of heroism and courage. Faced with the threat 
of severe injury to his 4-year-old brother, Michael, Christopher 
Simmons, an 8-year-old from Mt. Vernon, Illinois, boldly placed himself 
between his brother and a 95-pound dog. In doing so, Christopher 
demonstrated a profound sense of selflessness that is all too rarely 
reported. His heroism, as described in an article in the Mt. Vernon 
Register-News, was quite possibly the only thing that saved his younger 
brother from serious bodily harm.
  On April 6, 1997, as the boys' father, Phillip Simmons, spoke with 
the dog's owner, Christopher noticed the boxer playfully tugging at 
Michael's jacket. Suddenly, the dog lunged for the 4-year-old's throat. 
Christopher, without the slightest hesitation, stepped in front of the 
attacking dog and kicked it in the left eye. The dog, startled 
momentarily, became more angry and jumped onto Christopher, clawing and 
biting his chest. Fortunately, Christopher's quick thinking gave his 
father enough time to come to his aid, removing the dog from the boy's 
chest and subduing it until the owner arrived.
  Christopher received two chest wounds and lost a significant amount 
of blood. Michael, now 5 years old, needed surgery to repair a wounded 
jaw and a severely damaged ear. The dog's teeth barely missed nerves 
that help control the movements of the eyes and the jaw. If the dog had 
been able to do more harm to Michael, the little boy may not have 
survived.
  This horrible incident had one positive consequence: Christopher will 
be in Washington next month to represent 2.1 million Cub Scouts as he 
presents President Clinton with the Scouts' annual Report to the 
Nation. I am pleased to have this opportunity to join President Clinton 
in honoring Christopher for his tremendous heroism and outstanding 
courage. I ask that the Mt. Vernon Register-News article describing 
Christopher Simmons' act of heroism be printed in the Record.
  The article follows:

          [From the Mount Vernon Register-News, Feb. 2, 1998]

    Mt. Vernon Youth Who Saved Brother From Dog To Meet With Clinton

       MT. VERNON--A young boy who stepped between his 4-year-old 
     brother and a 95-pound attacking dog is being rewarded for 
     his bravery with a meeting with President Clinton.
       Christopher Simmons, 8, has been chosen to represent the 
     nation's 2.1 million Cub Scouts in presenting scouting's 
     yearly Report to the Nation in the Oval Office next month.
       His bravery also earned him the Scouts' rare Honor Medal, 
     ``for unusual heroism in saving or attempting to save life at 
     considerable risk to self.'' Only 42 such medals were earned 
     last year by the nation's 4.5 million Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts 
     and Explorers.
       Christopher's story began last April 6 when his dad, 
     Phillip, took along Christopher, then 7, and his brother, 
     Michael, to help the dog's owner with some yard work.
       Phillip Simmons was chatting with the man, who is in his 
     80s, when he saw the dog shaking Michael by his coat. The 
     boxer then released its grip and aimed for Michael's throat.
       ``As his jaws closed on Michael's head, Christopher 
     launched a kick that connected with the dog's left eye,'' the 
     father recalled last week. ``The pain further enraged the 
     dog, who instantly turned on Christopher.''
       As Christopher stepped back, with the dog's paws on his 
     chest and its jaws ripping at his coat, the momentary 
     diversion gave Simmons time to reach his sons.
       ``I jumped on him and kicked him,'' Christopher, a third-
     grader at St. Mary's School, recalled last week at his home 
     here. ``Then he jumped on me. By that time my dad was there. 
     I pulled my brother out of reach of the dog.''
       Seizing the dog by one ear, Phillip Simmons rammed his fist 
     down the animal's throat and held him against a car.
       ``As the dog struggled, I looked back to see Michael 
     standing frozen in a pool of blood, still within reach of the 
     dog if he got loose,'' the father recalled.
       ``Chris, even though bleeding from two sets of chest 
     wounds, had the presence of mind to pull Michael out of range 
     of the boxer so I could release the dog,'' Phillip Simmons 
     added. ``There is no doubt that if it had not been for 
     Christopher's quick thinking and action, I would have lost my 
     4-year-old son.''
       Michael, now 5, had to have surgery on his jaw and dangling 
     left ear. Physicians stitched along a crease so that the ear 
     would heal with no visible damage. The boxer's teeth barely 
     missed a nerve that controls the eye and another that 
     controls the jaw.
       A typically lively 5-year-old, Michael seems to have few 
     emotional scars, though his parents say he is very afraid of 
     dogs.
       The dog had no history of harming or threatening anyone.
       Instead of insisting the dog be killed, the Simmons family 
     agreed to allow the boxer to be sent to a breeding farm where 
     children were not allowed. The dog has since died.

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