Beach man who died trying to save friend awarded medal

VIRGINIA BEACH

A Virginia Beach man who drowned trying to save his friend was named a recipient of the Carnegie Medal for extraordinary civilian heroism Wednesday.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, based in Pittsburgh, awarded a medal to Kenneth W. Ringeisen and 25 others for risking their lives "to an extraordinary degree" to save or try to save others, the commission said in a statement.

"I feel very honored to accept the Carnegie hero medal for my husband," Ringeisen's widow, Jan Ringeisen, said in an interview. "This medal will help bring closure to his family and friends, and I'm so proud of him."

He died May 20, 2007, after diving into the Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River to try to save his longtime friend, Don Adams of Virginia Beach.

The pair were spending a day fishing on Adams' boat when Adams lost his fishing pole in the water. When he reached for it, he fell into the river.

As Adams struggled to stay afloat, Ringeisen, 65, dove into the water with his clothes and shoes on to swim toward his friend, and got close to him. Adams, then 53, was able to find a slope with his feet and inch his way toward the river bank, but Ringeisen drifted with the current.

Someone on another boat threw Ringeisen a life preserver, but he couldn't grab it. Adams saw his friend go under.

"Kenny was like a brother," he said in a telephone interview this week. "Here he dove in trying to save me, and I just happened to be the one that got out, and he went under."

The two met in 1994 when the Ringeisens lived in a Beach apartment complex where Adams was the maintenance supervisor. Kenneth Ringeisen was a stonemason by trade and started his own company, Heritage Masonry, in 1999.

"He never had to advertise," Jan Ringeisen said. "It was always referrals."

Ringeisen's work kept him physically fit and young in appearance, and he was a strong swimmer, his widow said.

With her husband in good health, they talked about having at least 20 more years after spending nearly 20 together.

"Losing your best friend and your husband - everything changed," Ringeisen said. "I miss him so much."

After the initial shock, she sent information about her husband to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which was created to recognize acts of heroism.

Since 1904, Carnegie Medals have been awarded to 9,199 people from among 80,000 nominees, the commission said.

Forty-eight medals have been awarded in 2008. Each recipient or next of kin receives a grant of $6,000.

Ringeisen's friends have had a difficult time coming to terms with his death, none more so than Adams. The medal means something, he said.

"I'm just glad he was recognized for what he did."

Patrick Wilson, (757) 446-2957, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com