It was only fitting that Laura Moral would be the one to pin the Boy Scout Medal of Merit - given, on average, to fewer than 100 individuals each year - on her son's shirt Friday evening.

She was, after all, the person 7-year-old Brent Moral helped rescue Feb. 12 when she became pinned beneath the family minivan.

Despite being only 6 at the time, Brent knew to call 911.

The recognition is nice, according to Laura, but not as important as the message she said she and her husband, Alex, have tried to emphasize to their son.

"It's doing things for the right reason . . . doing good things that help people," Laura said as Brent stood next to her.

Brent has been paying attention.

Asked why he got involved in Scouting, he didn't immediately mention camping, hiking or even playing games.

"They help (people)," he said.

During Friday's medal presentation in the Blessed Sacrament School gymnasium, Arlan Juhl, council commissioner for the Abraham Lincoln Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said behaving in a responsible way that is also in service to others is what the Boy Scouts like to reward.

The Medal of Merit is one of several citations given by the Boy Scouts and is reserved for youth members or adult leaders who have performed some outstanding act of service of a rare or exceptional character that reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the welfare of others, Juhl said.

He noted that council officials in Springfield had nominated Brent for the award; it was approved at the national level.

Last winter, when her battery of her minivan went dead, Laura Moral put the vehicle in neutral and began pushing it into the driveway. Because of an incline, the van got away from her. She was pulled underneath and dragged to the bottom of the driveway near the curb. When the van stopped, it was resting on her chest.

Brent was inside the van and heard his mother's calls for help. He unfastened his seat belt, climbed out and asked his mother if she was OK. Laura told him she was but that he needed to get her some help.

She assumed he would go inside and wake up relatives, but instead he made a bee\line for the phone and dialed 911. Police say he sounded a little excited, but calmed down and was able to give dispatchers pertinent information.

Emergency personnel soon arrived at the family's home in the 1800 block of Windycrest Drive, and Laura was safely extricated. She suffered no serious injuries.

In addition to talking at home about the importance of dialing 911 to summon help, Laura said her son learned about the importance of the three digits in school and in Scouts. Only a month before the February incident, Brent and his fellow Tiger Scouts had visited Springfield's Fire Station No. 7, where the group had to repeat what they would do in the event of an emergency.

At the time, Brent was a Tiger Scout. Now a Cub, the next level up, he's a member of Pack 31, which is sponsored by Blessed Sacrament Church. Brent is a second-grader at Blessed Sacrament.

John Reynolds can be reached at 788-1524 or john.reynolds@sj-r.com.