Act of Valor Award to be Donated to Rauh Jewish Archives at Heinz History Center in Virtual Ceremony

The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center will host a private ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 1 to accept the donation of a special object: the Act of Valor Award given to Pittsburgh Police Officer Tim Matson for his bravery in the line of duty during the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. 

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The public is invited to view the ceremony virtually on the History Center’s website at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1. The ceremony will include brief remarks, the donation of the Act of Valor Award, and reflections on the meaning of historic artifacts. 

Officer Matson was among the initial responding city police officers at the scene that morning, and he was wounded alongside his fellow city officers Michael Smidga, Daniel Mead, and Anthony Burke.  

Officer Matson became friends with Dan Leger, a longtime nurse and hospital chaplain who also survived the attack, while they were both recovering in the same local hospital. 

In November 2019, Matson and his fellow officers received the Act of Valor Award for their bravery. In a spirit of friendship and mutual gratitude, Matson gave his award to Leger. In turn, Leger is donating the award to the Rauh Jewish Archives to publicly commemorate the bravery of the officers. 

The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives is leading an ongoing collecting initiative to document the Oct. 27 attack and its aftermath. To learn more about this initiative, click here. 

The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives was founded on Nov. 1, 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. 

This Act of Valor Award was given to Pittsburgh Police Officer Tim Matson for his bravery in the line of duty during the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. It is being donated to the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center in a virtual ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.