Daniel E. Sutherland, Jr., saved Jacqueline A. Costa from drowning, Soldatna, Alaska, August 1, 1962. After a boat in which she, her parents, and three other persons were riding capsized in the Kenai River, Jacqueline, 5, who could not swim, was swept downstream by the swift current but was kept afloat by her life jacket. Jacqueline’s mother drowned, but the others reached the bank. Sutherland, 39, automobile salesman, and his wife were fishing from the bank 200 feet upstream from an area of rapids and saw Jacqueline being carried downstream. Undressing to his underclothing, Sutherland dived into the cold water, although he had suffered two heart attacks a year earlier and had been warned to avoid strenuous exercise. The swift current forced him to swim 90 feet before he overtook Jacqueline 45 feet from the bank in water 20 feet deep. Because he was not sufficiently skilled as a swimmer to tow her while swimming with only one arm, Sutherland used his head and arms to keep Jacqueline in front of him as he swam toward the bank. The current again diverted him, and he swam 90 feet with Jacqueline before reaching the bank 20 feet from the rapids. Winded and nearly numb, he lifted Jacqueline onto the bank. In climbing out of the water, Sutherland sustained a gash on one knee, which healed.
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