From a mezzo-soprano to a mountain climber: Inspirational Czechs awarded at Prague Castle

Czech President Petr Pavel decorated 62 personalities during his first award-giving ceremony on Saturday's national holiday marking the establishment of the independent Czechoslovak Republic on Oct. 28, 1918.

Weighing in on social media, many leaders said that overall, the event signaled a dignified celebration, focusing on those who have advanced the nation's well-being. In a speech prior to the presentation in the Castle's Vladislav Hall, Pavel said the Czech Republic has the strongest security anchoring in history.

The Medal of Heroism was bestowed on eight individuals, pilots, police officers, and firefighters, and the Medal of Merit to renowned personalities in the spheres of culture, science, and sports.

The Medal of Heroism in combat was awarded to four military pilots, including Jiří Pavel Kafka, the last surviving Czech pilot who served in the 311th Czechoslovak Bomber Squadron of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II; in memoriam to other pilots of the 311th RAF Squadron, Josef Bernát and Oldřich Doležal; and the pilot of the 310th Fighter Squadron, Stanislav Zimprich.

In four cases, the Medal of Heroism was awarded for saving a life or lives. The recipients were firefighter Pavel Farka, who saved the life of a badly injured motorcyclist, police officers Martin Salay and Jiří Štěpánek, who helped several people during the evacuation of a burning hostel in Tábor, south Bohemia, and Petr Jirout, who saved the life of a two-year-old girl who fell out of a window into a river.

Pavel presented the Medal of Merit to 39 personalities, including actors Jiří Bartoška, Viktor Preiss, and Petr Kostka, documentary film-maker Olga Sommerová, and musician Vladimír Mišík, who in the past refused to accept this award from his predecessor, Miloš Zeman.

In the cultural and artistic sphere, poet, novelist, and actor Miloň Čepelka, illustrator and comic strip author Jaroslav Němeček, as well as architect Miroslav Masák, who was also an advisor to President Václav Havel.

Among athletes, mountaineer Radek Jaroš is the first Czech to climb all 14 of the world's eight-thousanders without the use of oxygen and to ascend the highest peaks of all continents.

The president also awarded the recently deceased diplomat Martin Povejšil, a long-time deputy director of the Security Information Service (BIS) civilian counterintelligence and a signatory of Charter 77. Awards were also given to several medical doctors and scientists, astronomers, and astrophysicists.

The full list of recipients can be seen here.