Daine N. Vannett helped to save Justin P. Allen from drowning, Oxnard, California, June 17, 1987. Justin, 4, was wading in the Pacific Ocean near the beach when he was carried into deeper water by a strong current. On the beach nearby, Vannett, 21, landscaper, was alerted; he entered the water and swam about 700 feet to Justin. He grasped Justin, who was holding to an unconscious man who had swum out for him, and began to swim back to the beach, Justin in tow. En route, they were met by a lifeguard, who used a flotation device to take them the remaining distance. Justin required hospital treatment for hypothermia. Vannett, exhausted, was given oxygen, and he recovered. The other man, who was later recovered from the water, could not be revived.
62604 – 7197
62604-7197