The lone survivor of a March 2001 tragedy that claimed three lives in Pouch Cove, Nfld., says his friends deserve the bravery honours they posthumously received Friday.

Jesse Elliott and Adam Wall drowned while attempting to save the life of Adrian (A.J.) Sullivan, whose legs had become pinned between two pieces of ice while the teenaged friends played on the frozen waterfront in the town north of St. John's.

The fourth boy who was there that day, Michael Sparkes, says he feels he owes his life to Elliott and Wall.

"They tried to save A.J. and they also saved me," said Sparkes, who has never before spoken publicly about the tragedy.

"They jumped out onto the ice, and they just looked at me and said, 'Go get help.' If they never had to say, 'Go get help,' I probably would have jumped out onto the ice and tried to save A.J. too," said Sparkes, who is now 22. "So then it would have been all four of us."

The mothers of Elliott and Wall, who were cousins, accepted bravery awards Friday from Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson at a ceremony in Ottawa.

The four teens had skipped school that afternoon to go to a pool hall.

Afterwards, they climbed on the rocks near the icy water of Pouch Cove. The four boys jumped on and off the large chunks of ice and rocks that dotted the shoreline.

A wave struck Sullivan, who was swept into the water and became stuck in the ice.

"Jesse and Adam jumped out to help, and another wave came and the two of them got stuck," said Sparkes. Within minutes, residents were lining the shoreline, trying in vain to free the three boys from the ice.

Elliott grabbed a rope and was being pulled in when he reached out to help Wall. It was a selfless but costly act.

"There was nothing you could do," Sparkes said. "There was too much pressure on the ice to haul them up. Then another wave came, and that was it. They were gone."

Like hundreds of others, Sparkes kept a vigil in the freezing air that night, scanning the water for any sign of life. It took almost five days for crews to find all the bodies.

Sparkes is proud that his friends are being honoured with the awards.

"It's a bit late, but it's real great that they're getting them," he said before the ceremony. "They really deserve them."