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IT started off as any other normal Saturday for four Port Macquarie friends, however none of them could have ever imagined how it would end.
On that fateful afternoon on November 30, 2013, one cherished life would be lost and countless others changed forever.
A shark attacked 19-year-old Zac Young that day at Reicks Point, north of Coffs Harbour. Zac lost his life.
Now, 16 months on, the courage showed by his three friends will be rewarded when each receive a medal for acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances fromt he Governor-General.
Lindsy Isaac-Davies, Kurt Gillan and Shayden Schrader were in the water with Zac that day. Each of them showed amazing courage in an unthinkable situation and tried to save their mate's life.
To stay holding his unconscious body, all three of them in shock, with blood and severed limbs and a shark who wanted Zac ... they must not have thought of themselves at all.
- Kevin Young
The boys fought off the tiger shark that had attacked Zac. They pulled him to shore and began the impossible battle of keeping him alive.
What many may not know is the true struggle endured that day by the three young men.
As Zac's father Kevin explains, it was an extraordinary series of events.
"A few months ago I found out more than I ever knew," he said. "The three guys where all together when it happened and they knew that it was serious.
"The amount of blood in the water was huge and Zac actually said 'well, this isn't good' in a humorous way when he saw his legs."
While some may think it was a short trip back to shore, it was far more than that.
In what would have seemed like a lifetime, it took them 20 minutes to get into shore. Each of the three boys took turns to carry Zac's body on their backs.
"There's blood flooding around you and you have a severely injured kid taking turns on each of their backs," Steve said.
"To stay holding his unconscious body, all three of them in shock, with blood and severed limbs and a shark who wanted Zac ... they must not have thought of themselves at all.
"That was radical of them. It was pure bravery.
"They had time to think, they must have known what was happening and had time to go over everything and they still kept going.
"I'm extremely grateful. I'm extremely proud of the three boys."
Lindsy's mother Debra Isaac spoke proudly of the efforts of the young men and said they thoroughly deserved this recognition.
"It was a very difficult time and I'm afraid it will have lifelong consequences," she said. "These awards are very well deserved. It's a very big deal and the boys showed amazing courage on the day."
Shayden's father Steve said he would be forever proud of the boys' efforts in what was a traumatic and shocking time.
"They will always remember what has happened, but they deserve these awards," he said.
"It's good for the Port Macquarie community to be aware of what the boys did that day."
Of course, none of the young men want any fanfare. The way they see it, they were simply doing what anyone in the same situation would do.
There are many different ways to become a hero and many definitions of the word, but one thing is for sure - the three boys definitely epitomise what it means to be one.
