SANDPOINT (AP) — A northern Idaho resident has been awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Forrest Bird of Sagle received the award Wednesday from President George W. Bush at a private ceremony in the Oval Office. The presidential citation lists Bird's groundbreaking work in creating the world's first mass-produced medical respirator.

"It's humbling, it really is," Bird, 87, told the Bonner County Daily Bee after the ceremony. "It makes you realize, by golly, you're just a part of a big, big, global effort in these things we do together. We all work together. Each one of us has a different station in life and we serve one another. That's what makes us Americans."

Other recipients included actor Gary Sinise, who played Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump."

The award recognizes U.S. citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for the nation, and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom in honors the president can give to a civilian.

"Through his innovation, (Bird) has helped transform and enhance the quality of life for people around the globe," the citation reads.

Bird invented the "Bird" and "Baby Bird" ventilators. The "Baby Bird," developed in 1970, helped lower mortality rates among infants with respiratory problems.

"The biggest thing in life is that you don't travel alone," Bird said. "I think this honor should be bestowed to all the people that helped me down the roadway of life. I go back through my life and I can recall some wonderful, wonderful people that helped me get to this point."

Bird accepted the award with his wife, Pamela, and several other family members. They spent about 15 minutes with the president and first lady Laura Bush.

"He's a wonderful gentlemen," Bird said of the president. "He's a real, real friendly fellow. He presented himself very well and was very down-to-earth."

Besides the latest award, Bird has also been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and has an award named after him from the American Respiratory Care Foundation.

Pamela Bird said her husband's thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for his work drives him.

"It's the passion," she said. "Inventors — the successful ones — don't create for money. That's not their goal. For Forrest and other successful inventors, it's their passion. It's what they do and it's what they live and breathe for. That's what makes them tick."