C. L. Cooke, 41, tractor serviceman, rescued Peter K. Guillen, 25, military pilot trainee, from burning, Yuma, Arizona, February 2, 1945. The airplane in which Guillen was flying crashed in a field and burst into flames, which rose about 30 feet from the top and one side of the fuselage. The nose and the wings were ripped off, and the framework of the top of the cockpit was exposed. Cooke ran to the side of the fuselage that was free of flames and by means of holes in the covering climbed to within reach of Guillen, who was suspended by his belt at the top of the cockpit, with flames beneath and about him. Cutting the belt with his pen knife and lifting a piece of metal from Guillen’s thighs, Cooke lowered him to the ground. Jumping to the ground, he ripped off Guillen’s burning outer clothing and pulled him away from the airplane. When he was 25 feet from the wreckage, an explosion occurred, enveloping the airplane in flames. Guillen died of his burns the following day. Cooke sustained slight burns on his hands. 40421-3491
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