David Keith Bartuska saved Charles E. Jackson from drowning, Exeter, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1961. Charles, 13, and another boy started to cross the Susquehanna River by swimming from pier to pier of a bridge, but 40 feet from the bank they were caught in the swift current and carried downstream in water 20 feet deep. The other boy, a better swimmer, took hold of Charles but could not move him toward the bank; and they called for help. David, 12, schoolboy, who with his father was fishing from a rowboat anchored under the bridge, removed his shoes and dived into the water. He swam 80 feet to where Charles and the other boy, after having been submerged once briefly, again had sunk. David submerged himself and brought Charles to the surface, aided somewhat by the other boy. The boy thereafter did not give further assistance. As David towed him toward the bank, Charles floundered wildly, impeding David’s efforts and twice causing him to be submerged to his eyes. David retained his hold on Charles and moved him 20 feet nearer the bank while the current carried all three boys farther downstream. David’s father then reached them in the boat. While the other boy clung to the stern, David held to the boat and supported Charles as the father rowed to the bank.
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