BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There was no hesitation, Ronald Diehl Jr. said.
No contemplating. No pondering. No debating. No mulling over the possible ramifications to his personal safety as the tiny aircraft that crashed into a nearby tree was about to explode into a fireball.
There was only this split-second reaction: Someone is hurt. I have to try to save them.
“I saw somebody maybe in trouble and did what I could to help,” said Diehl, Jr., 49, of Quakertown. “I didn’t think about myself. He could’ve died. I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. I did what I thought I should do.
“I don’t feel like a hero.”
The Carnegie Hero Fund begs to differ.
Diehl is among 18 individuals nationwide to be recognized in early 2025 for acts of extraordinary heroism with the Carnegie Medal, North America’s highest honor for civilian heroism.
Sept. 28, 2022, began like most days for Diehl, a carpenter for S&D Renovations in Breinigsville. He arrived at a home in Salisbury Township to repair some flashing that had blown off near the chimney.
"I don't feel like a hero."Ronald Diehl, Jr., Quakertown
But as Diehl opened the back door of his van to unload his equipment, his day quickly turned into one unlike any other.
Hearing what he describes as hedges being clipped, he turned to see a single-engine, Piper PA-28 light aircraft crash into a nearby tree shortly after taking off from Queen City Municipal Airport in Allentown.
The plane fell to the ground and flames immediately broke out. One of the wings broke off on impact with the tree, where it remained stuck in its branches and leaked fuel onto the burning engine below, feeding the flames.
“I was about 50 feet away,” Diehl said. “I walked over, looked up and thought ‘Nobody survives this.’ Then I saw a foot sticking out the window and wiggling. Fuel was pouring out toward the flames. I could see his arm was broken. I went up and pulled him out the side window.
“We needed to get away from there quick because I felt it was gonna blow.”
A heroic but unforgettable moment
A moment after Diehl pulled the pilot — 5-foot-10, 200-pound Philip McPherson — to safety, the plane exploded.
After Diehl backed his van away from the flames, he returned to McPherson, who told him, “Please go save my student!”
Diehl returned to the plane, near the cockpit. But the intense heat and flames were too intense. The flight student, Keith Kozal, 49, of Easton, was dead.
Authorities charged McPherson, of Haddon Township, N.J. — he was alleged to be flying without a pilot's license — with involuntary manslaughter.
More than two years later, Diehl, a married father of 5-year-old twin boys, said the events of that day remain vivid. Occasional bouts of post-traumatic stress disorder bring it all back. Talking about it has helped, but it never fully goes away, he said.
“I remember afterward being at a concert at the Meadowlands and seeing all these planes flying overhead,” he said. “I was counting them; 81 planes in four hours. It bothered me.”
High honors
Diehl and the other awardees were chosen by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission board of directors based in Pittsburgh. The board becomes aware of the acts of heroism by reviewing stories online through Google alerts.
According to Jewels Phraner, Carnegie Hero Fund spokesperson, each awardee will receive a bronze medallion that includes their name and details of their heroism.
Each honoree can either have the medal shipped to them or, as Diehl has chosen, at a ceremony near his home where an elected official will present the medal.
Diehl was presented a plaque and official recognition by Salisbury Township for his good deed.
'What we taught you'
Being recognized for his achievements is nothing new for Diehl. He has won numerous athletic awards in Little League Baseball and adult dek hockey, for which he was named offensive player of the year and league and playoff MVP.
However, the Carnegie Medal is inarguably different.
Diehl is a hero and will be honored as such. He doesn’t view himself in that same light. Neither, he said, do his parents.
“I remember telling my mom and dad what happened,” he said. “And they said, ‘Yeah, that’s what we taught you, to help people when you can.’
“And they’re right. You just have to help people when you can, just like you’d hope they’d help you. It’s what we all should do.”
Without hesitation.
