Nov 1, 2025
A recent Facebook message from a former Medfield resident wanting to donate a 325th anniversary medal to the Society led to a fulfilling cup of coffee and conversation with Michael “Peter” Higgins and his wife, Anna. The friendly visit, spurred by the keepsake, led to the discovery of a heroic story with national significance.
Now residents of Cotuit, Peter and Anna Higgins lived in Medfield for nearly 30 years, raising their daughter Sandra, who graduated from Medfield High School in 1985. For a number of years, Anna worked as a kindergarten aide at Memorial School.
Born in Northern Italy, Anna was just a year old when she emigrated with her family to the Italian colony of Eritrea. She met Peter when he was an Army soldier stationed there and came to her aid to help with a flat tire.
The roadside encounter wasn’t the first or last instance Peter Higgins was in the right place at the right time. During this recent Cape visit, it came to light that he was also the man honored by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for his heroic acts in East Boston in 1965.
A Not-so-restful Sunday
On the afternoon of Sunday, March 28, 1965, just months before Peter and Anna Higgins relocated to Medfield, the couple, along with Peter’s brother, Robert, were traveling in their open convertible near Logan International Airport when they spotted a helicopter faltering overhead and about to crash. They followed the aircraft and were the first to reach the wreckage.
According to various media accounts and articles, one passenger, a man from Lynn, fell to his death from the helicopter, while his wife, stepdaughter and the pilot were trapped inside the mangled aircraft that had burst into flames. Peter and Robert Higgins ran to the helicopter, and risked their lives to save the remaining occupants, who were injured, unconscious and not easily accessible.
At the time, Peter Higgins was just 23 years old; his brother was 25. Newly married, Peter and Anna were preparing to move from Boston to the suburbs of Medfield, excited to start their new life together. While Peter shared distinct details of that day, including the difficulty of accessing the passengers given his height (more than six feet tall), Anna talked about the trauma of witnessing the accident and its aftermath. “The terrible memories of that day still affect me,” she noted.
Saved from the helicopter and hospitalized for their injuries were passengers Linda O’Neill, 9, Marilyn Thomas, 35, and pilot Albert DeLuca, 27. Richard Thomas, 32, perished in the accident. Peter and Robert Higgins were also treated for burns from the helicopter flames.
Honoring the Heroes
On Dec. 7, 1965, nine months after the accident, the Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognized the Higgins brothers with the “William Penn Harding Citation and Award” – an annual honor given to individuals who displayed at the risk of their own lives, “the most heroic and unselfish bravery in saving, or attempting to save, another in extreme peril of death by drowning or by fire.”
As noted on the Massachusetts Historical Society website, the Humane Society was established in 1786 to rescue the survivors of shipwrecks and ships in distress, and later expanded its efforts by rewarding individuals for heroic acts. The organization still exists today. https://www.masslifesavingawards.org/
After conducting extensive research and assessing potential award recipients, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, a national non-profit organization, voted on April 12, 1967 to also honor the Higgins brothers.
Each one received a bronze medal and a monetary award of $750 (the equivalent of about $7,275 today). The Commission website provides more information about their heroic efforts. https://wwwcarnegiehero.org/hero-search/michael-peter-higgins/.
Founded by Pittsburgh steelmaker Andrew Carnegie in 1904, the Commission bestows awards throughout the U.S. and Canada “to those who risk death or serious physical injury to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.” The Carnegie Medal is considered the highest honor for civilian heroism. https://www.carnegiehero.org/hero-search/michael-peter-higgins/
While The Boston Globe publicized the 1967 announcement of the Higgins brothers’ Carnegie awards, when asked if Medfield newspapers ever ran a story about it, Peter Higgins modestly said he didn’t recall anything being published.
More than 60 years since the tragic accident, this article helps give Peter, Robert, and Anna Higgins a measure of the local recognition they deserve, while also keeping their powerful story alive.
On behalf of the Society, we thank Peter for his donation of the 325th Town of Medfield anniversary medal that marks a very different historical moment in time, while also serving as another source of community pride and the impetus for this story.