We all know Harrison Ford as the star of Indiana Jones, but did you know he was a hero on and off the screen?
About 23 years ago in 2001, Ford rescued a Boy Scout who was alone and stranded in the Wyoming wilderness. Cody Clawson was only 13 years old when he got lost near Yellowstone National Park. He went missing for over 18 hours, spending the night curled up in a cave, according to an ABC News interview.
“It rained and sleeted that night,” Clawson told the news outlet. “It was pretty scary.”
However, Clawson woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of airplanes and helicopters.
“I started looking for an open place that I could signal them,” he recalled. “I used my belt buckle to reflect the sunlight. They saw it and landed.”
Harrison Ford Rescues Lost Boy Scout, Becomes Real-Life Hero
When Clawson saw the helicopter come to his rescue, the last person he expected as the pilot was legend Harrison Ford — a hero on and off the screen, apparently.
“He said, ‘Good morning,’ and I recognized [his voice] because he said it just like he did in ‘Star Wars,'” Clawson said. “He asked how I was doing and said, ‘You certainly should have earned a merit badge for this.'”
At the time, Ford lived (part-time) in Jackson, Wyoming. He often volunteered for rescue missions in the area, seeing as he had both the flying experience and an actual helicopter. In fact, Clawson wasn’t the first person Ford rescued.
According to an old CBS News article, in July of 2000, “Ford plucked an Idaho Falls, Idaho, hiker off 11,106-foot Table Mountain in Teton County. Megan Freeman climbed the mountain, but altitude sickness and dehydration left her sick and unable to climb down. Ford picked her up and flew her to a Driggs, Idaho, hospital.”
So the rumors are true: Ford, now 81 years old, really is a real-life hero.
This Story’s Featured Image Is By Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.
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