Charles Robert De Witt, 19, mailer, rescued Charles A. Morgan, Jr., 25, bricklayer, and attempted to rescue Donald L. Heberling, 37, manager of typewriter agency, and Richard L. Heberling, 7, from burning, Topeka, Kansas, January 1, 1954. Morgan, Heberling, and the latter’s son Richard were aboard an airplane which crashed upright in a field. Dense flames enveloped the fuselage for 15 feet back of the nose and spread to the cabin. Although badly dazed, Morgan unbuckled his safety belt and opened the left cabin door slightly. Alighting from an automobile, De Witt ran 350 feet to the left door and swung it open wide. The front of the cabin was burning fiercely, and heat was intense. Heberling was slumped forward inert in his seat beside Morgan. In the rear seat of the cabin Richard was held by his safety belt. De Witt took hold of Morgan, whose jacket and trousers bad been ignited, drew him outside the cabin, and dragged him 40 feet from the airplane. He rolled Morgan about on the ground and extinguished his clothing. Morgan revived and got to his feet. De Witt returned at once to the airplane but saw that the left door was covered with flames and ran to the opposite side of the cabin, accompanied by Morgan, who still was dazed. The flames became more intense, and De Witt could advance no closer than three feet to the right door in his effort to reach Heberling and Richard. Morgan fainted and fell to the ground. As De Witt again dragged Morgan a safe distance away, flames shot upward 15 feet from one wing. Heberling and Richard perished in the flames, which consumed all but the metal parts of the airplane. Morgan suffered severe burns which required treatment for more than three months. De Witt sustained burns of the face, arms, and hands which healed. 43086-3922
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