Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad awarded Captain Ashley Rowe, at left, and Firefighter A.J. Hamilton Medals of Valor Monday night for the successful rescue of a pre-teen female who had fallen through the ice of a retention pond in the Patriots Walk Subdivision in Gloucester on Dec. 29. The Medal of Valor is awarded to a firefighter for performance above and beyond the call of duty at extreme personal risk and having been instrumental in rescuing and saving another person’s life, said a press release. In this instance, the two men went onto the ice and into the frigid water without benefit of any personal protective equipment or specialized rescue equipment, which was en route but not yet on scene. Had they waited for that equipment, said the release, the female “would have surely succumbed to the freezing water.” In addition to receiving this award, Rowe and Hamilton were honored by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and received a letter of commendation from Gloucester ...