Antonio Varacalli

Antonio Varacalli, 20, laborer, died attempting to save Ruth E. Dunham, 19, from drowning, Seneca Falls, New York, April 12, 1917. Miss Dunham fell from a bridge into the Cayuga and Seneca Barge Canal, 69 feet from the bank, where the water was more than 10 feet deep. Removing only his coat, Varacalli waded a few feet into the water and swam to her. He drew her arm over his shoulder and swam 27 feet toward the bank with her and then shoved her toward another man, who was swimming out with a rope attached to himself. The man caught Miss Dunham and took her ashore, but Varacalli sank and was drowned.