‘We all worked together to be able to save him’: Boys to be recognized at Red Cross Heroes Breakfast

Four Glen Ellyn fifth graders will be among those honored next month at the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago’s 22nd Heroes Breakfast in Chicago.

Declan Devlin and his twin brother Tiernan Devlin, Tommy Nitti and Charlie Valerio, students at Forest Glen Elementary School, will be saluted for their potentially lifesaving efforts last summer at Lake Ellyn.

Working as a unit, the boys rushed to help a man struggling in the water, acting fast to get life vests and an inflatable kayak to bring the man back to shore.

“The American Red Cross is proud to honor extraordinary people in our community, especially outstanding children like Declan, Tiernan, Charlie, and Tommy whose brave and quick actions saved a life,” American Red Cross of Illinois CEO Celena Roldán Sarillo said in a news release.

“We are proud to honor these four brave children alongside our 2024 class of heroes,” she said.

The group of 18 heroes, plus 2024 Heritage Award winner Brett Hart, president of United Airlines, will be honored on the morning of May 14 at the Chicago Hilton.

Other honorees include “Global Citizenship Hero” Nancy Economou of Downers Grove and the “Lifesaving Rescue Heroes” — Daniel Viayra Chavez of Aurora and Josh Elrod of Sandwich.

As “Youth Heroes,” Nitti, Valerio, and the Devlin twins were walking around Lake Ellyn on the night of June 17 when they heard a man yelling for help in the water.

The man had tried to swim out to retrieve a broken, radio-controlled boat when he began to struggle.

Charlie heard the man’s screams, told the other boys, and they ran to Tommy’s house to get the kayak and vests.

Declan and Tommy paddled into the lake to meet the man, gave him a life vest, and with the man holding on to a vest, they towed him back to safety. Charlie stayed on the shore to call 911.

“We all worked together to be able to save him,” Charlie said.

The boys received a Glen Ellyn police patch, a challenge coin recognizing their heroic act and were honored during a Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 board meeting in October.

More recently, the boys also were honored by the Fox Valley Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution.

“There is little doubt that but for the quick actions of these young men, tragedy was averted,” Glen Ellyn Police Chief Philip Norton said in October.