Feb 19, 2009 9:26 pm US/Eastern
Penn Hills Student Honored For Heroism
PENN HILLS (KDKA) ―
A very special award was given to a young man from Penn Hills.
Dat Hoang, 18, is grateful for the honor, but his greatest reward is knowing that he helped save the lives of his family.
What began as a brush fire a year ago on a cold January night soon consumed a home on Frankstown Road.
"Upon arrival we found the house totally involved. Occupants that were in the house were outside in the yard," the fire chief said at the time.
Those lives were saved because of the actions one teenager.
Today, at Penn Hills High School, Naval Junior ROTC Cadet Dat Hoang was honored with the Meritorious Achievement Award.
On that January night after calling 911, Dat saw that his uncle and sister had climbed to the roof of the home to escape smoke and flames.
Propping a ladder against the burning home, Dat climbed up to bring his family to safety.
The award was presented in the company of fellow cadets and with Dat's family looking on. His sister, Sa, was beaming.
"Very proud of him - we couldn't ask for anything more then who know, what he's doing - it's phenomenal," she said.
There was plenty of pomp and ceremony and the presence of State Senators Jay Costa and Bob Robbins.
The Hoang family fled Vietnam during the war.
Dat eventually wants to join the U.S. Military as an engineer and give back to this country.
"I see this country has given me so many opportunities," he said. "If I wasn't here I couldn't get this and be able to meet the people I met - so I want to be able to repay it somehow."
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