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<p>HARRISBURG &#8212; A Wilkes-Barre man who works as a corrections officer at a state prison in Montgomery County was recently honored for saving a child from drowning.</p><p>Shaun Skursky and his family were on vacation in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, last March and swimming in their hotel&#8217;s pool when he heard someone screaming for help.</p><p>A 12-year-old boy from Michigan was stuck underwater after his knee jammed in an open intake pump that was part of the pool&#8217;s lazy river attraction, according to a philly.com story from last May.</p><p>Skursky sprang into action, initially trying to lift the boy out of the pool.</p><p>But the force of the pump wouldn&#8217;t allow it.</p><p>&#8220;When I got there, he was unconscious,&#8221; Skursky told philly.com. &#8220;There was no fight in him.&#8221;</p><p>Fortunately, he was trained in CPR. So, &#8220;he ducked his head underwater and began to force air into the child&#8217;s mouth,&#8221; the story states.</p><p>Skursky did this repeatedly &#8212; all the while trying to pull the boy to the surface.</p><p>The force of the pump was so strong, not even four people working together could free the boy.</p><p>Finally, maintenance crews shut off the water pressure and the child was freed.</p><p>The philly.com story says the boy was underwater for more than eight minutes, but he had recovered enough to return to school several months later.</p><p>For his actions, Skursky and other rescuers received a life-saving award in South Carolina last year.</p><p>Just recently, he was honored by Corrections USA with its Medal of Valor during a conference in Las Vegas.</p><p>Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association President Jason Bloom said Skursky&#8217;s story shows &#8220;the commitment Pennsylvania&#8217;s corrections officers have to their communities and neighbors.&#8221;</p><p>Skursky works at SCI-Phoenix, which replaced the former Graterford state prison that closed last July.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association announced that three state corrections officers were recently awarded by Corrections USA with the national organization&#8217;s Medal of Valor. The award was presented posthumously to Sgt. Mark Baserman, who was killed in the line of duty last year at SCI-Somerset. Also receiving medals were Officers Shaun Skursky, of Wilkes-Barre, and Thomas Corcoran of New Castle, Lawrence County. Left to right: Doug Crile, SCI-Huntingdon honor guard; Doug Loy, PSCOA business agent; Jason Bloom, PSCOA president; Corcoran; Skursky; Kevin Quilter, PSCOA benefits coordinator; Timothy Walsh, PSCOA executive vice president; and Robert Bankes, PSCOA executive board. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_image1-5-1-1-1-1.jpeg</photo0><caption0>The Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association announced that three state corrections officers were recently awarded by Corrections USA with the national organization&#8217;s Medal of Valor. The award was presented posthumously to Sgt. Mark Baserman, who was killed in the line of duty last year at SCI-Somerset. Also receiving medals were Officers Shaun Skursky, of Wilkes-Barre, and Thomas Corcoran of New Castle, Lawrence County. Left to right: Doug Crile, SCI-Huntingdon honor guard; Doug Loy, PSCOA business agent; Jason Bloom, PSCOA president; Corcoran; Skursky; Kevin Quilter, PSCOA benefits coordinator; Timothy Walsh, PSCOA executive vice president; and Robert Bankes, PSCOA executive board. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Man awarded Medal of Valor for saving boy</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Times Leader Staff</p></bylineMeta></div>

State corrections officer from Wilkes-Barre awarded Medal of Valor