Two's in says:
Personally, I would have thought that getting it down remarkably intact on one of the few pieces of clear real estate in that area more than qualifies him for his aviation accoutrements.
Totally agree, and wouldn't dare say I would have done better, because then karma will be hunting for me! That said...
I find a lot of pilots tend to pull back on the cyclic during the slide. I had to conduct a 709 checkride for an Enstrom pilot (CFI) who had an engine failure immediately after takeoff and chopped off the boom. Sure enough, when we would do touchdowns he would try to move the cyclic back (Enstroms, having oleos, are worse because the nose tends to tuck during the slide - it's a very uncomfortable attitude).
Even in an R44 which if flared like a high inertia machine can touch down at minimal ground speed even in calm air, I find people tend to (unconsciously?) try to use aft cyclic to minimize the slide. I try to stress with students that they can move the stick left and right all they want, but once they feel the skids touch, fore/aft is verboten.
I've also become aware that some schools teach their students to rapidly lower collective during the slide, and I know Bell recommends you not leave the collective up during the slide, but I'm reluctant to slam the collective down - I'd rather the blades stay coned until the aircraft stops bouncing around (and I'm worried about digging the skids in if I bottom the collective too quickly). I know I'll get some people telling me I'm wrong to not immediately lower collective once you touch down.
In any case, he got it down and didn't tip over, so I agree that he earned his pay that day.