Alvin S. Bowen, Jr., 11, schoolboy, saved Mark E. and Donna Lee Mansueti, 7 and 9, respectively, from drowning, Richmond, Virginia, January 21, 1965. Mark, who could not swim, and Donna Lee, a poor swimmer, broke through ice an a creek and fell into water six feet deep 15 feet from the bank. They clung to the edge of the ice and called for help. Although he was not a good swimmer, Alvin walked and crawled on the ice to 10 feet from the bank. The ice then broke between him and the hole, and he fell into the water. He swam five feet farther to Mark, who meanwhile had been submerged briefly several times. Mark tried to grasp Alvin, who towed him five feet to the unbroken ice and then broke a path eight feet farther to within two feet of the bank, from where he was aided to the bank by Alvin’s mother. Taking a broom, Alvin moved back alongside the ice to within three feet of Donna Lee. He extended the broom, which she grasped. Alvin then swam 10 feet along the edge of the ice, pulling Donna Lee by her hold on the broom to within two feet of the bank. Alvin handed the broom to his mother and climbed out. They then drew Donna Lee to the bank.
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