David Wayne Fox saved Bobby R. Meeks from burning, Kannapolis, North Carolina, June 4, 1963. Bobby, 6, schoolboy, David, 10, schoolboy, and the latter’s 12 year-old brother were sleeping in a tent eight feet long and four feet wide in the yard of the Fox residence. The back of the tent, which was four feet high at the center, caught fire from a candle. The older boy, awakened by the smoke, roused David and Bobby and then ran outside through loose flaps at the front end of the tent. David followed, but Bobby was too frightened to do so. While the brother shoveled dirt onto the flames, which then were five feet high over almost half of the top, David heard Bobby crying. Running back into the tent where the heat was intense, David moved four feet to Bobby. Within a foot of the flames spreading on the top, he took hold of Bobby and dragged him to the opening of the tent. The top was completely afire as David backed through the tent flaps with Bobby. Just as David pushed Bobby away from the tent, it collapsed. The burning canvas fell across David’s head and shoulders. He brushed it away and with Bobby ran to the dwelling. David’s parents were awakened, and they removed the smoldering clothing from him and Bobby. Both boys were hospitalized. David’s burns were extensive, and he was temporarily blinded. Both recovered.
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