Young boy saves classmate.

Last November, a group of students waited for their carpool ride in front of Eisenhower Middle School in suburban Wyckoff, New Jersey. (The town's name is pronounced "why cough," which is appropriate for this story.)

While standing around, talking animatedly, sixth-grader Marisa Mankofsky gave her friend, Meghan Hubert, 13, a piece of candy. Meghan popped the chocolate ball into her mouth, but then started gasping for air. Marisa attempted the Heimlich maneuver, but to no avail.

Another classmate, Emanuel Raji, knew that Meghan needed further help and shouted out, "She's choking!"

Yet another schoolmate, 12-year-old Jack Conklin, took charge. "I pushed [Marissa] aside and said, 'Let me try,'" Jack told Allison Pries, a reporter from the Bergen County Record.

Two thrusts of the maneuver did the trick--the candy popped out of Meghan's mouth and onto the sidewalk. She was fine, except for a sore throat.

On March 31, Jack was honored by the Bergen-Hudson Chapter of the American Red Cross at its eighth annual Heroes Breakfast, held in nearby Englewood Cliffs. When asked about his heroic deed, Jack told the Record reporter: "In situations like this, I just take charge."

When asked for her reaction, Meghan replied: "I thought I was gonna die. I was really scared. I didn't know if he'd do it right, but I was glad he tried."