And another example of their service and heroism sat that night three rows from the front with his family. Francis Vo, 70, had only lived in Sunnyvale for four months when he was stricken with a heart attack and lay dying. Officers William Whitaker and Jim Davis showed up in time to restore his heartbeat with an automatic external defibrillator.

"They did a perfect job; they saved a life," Vo said. "If they hadn't come, I wouldn't be here today."

Whitaker, who's been on the Sunnyvale force for two years, said the best feeling was seeing Vo--the first life he's saved--up and about at the ceremony.

"It feels good," Whitaker said. "I just hope that if I'm ever in that situation, someone does the same for me."

But that was just one of the stories told that night at the council meeting. Retired Lt. Phil Carr and Fire Battalion Chief Tim Johnson had another harrowing, life-saving moment on the job.

On Jan. 11, 2003, Carr pulled the driver from a car that was stuck on the train tracks at Evelyn and Mary avenues--just 10 seconds before the train destroyed the car. Carr was given the first-ever Bronze Medal of Distinction for his heroism.

"I had 90 days left until I retired; there was no way I was going to get myself hit by a train," said Carr, a 20-year public safety veteran in Sunnyvale who retired just over a year ago. "This [medal] is a nice thing; it's an appropriate way to cap off my career."

Carr was also indirectly involved in saving Vo's life. During his career, Carr worked to get defibrillators in all patrol cars and fire engines.

Johnson--who congratulated all the other officers on his way down to the podium--received the Silver Medal of Honor for rescuing a woman from her burning house. After answering a call about a fire on Shirley Avenue, Johnson, who wasn't wearing his protective gear, ran into the house alone and found a woman still on the phone calling for help. He got her out of the house with only second-degree burns to her face, arms and hands.

"With me and Carr, it was just us being in the right place at the right time; those guys are the real heroes," Johnson said, gesturing toward a group of uniformed officers. "Any one of the 200 people, given the same situation, would do the same thing. They're all heroes."