Duane Damron

Duane Damron saved Curtis A. Nemetz from being struck by a shifting mobile home, Gulfport, Mississippi, December 12, 2005. Nemetz, 26, and Damron, 71, retired athletic coach, were part of a group of volunteers who were installing a mobile home. Nemetz was at a corner of the home, sitting on the ground with his back against a chain-link fence and legs underneath the unit. The mobile home began to shift from its supports toward the fence. As Nemetz got to his feet between the mobile home and the fence, Damron lunged toward him from a kneeling position around that corner of the unit. With his right hand, Damron grasped Nemetz and pulled him from between the fence and the shifting home. That end of the unit dropped to the ground against the fence, pinning Damron by the left hand. He pulled the badly injured hand free. Damron was taken to the hospital, where he remained two months for treatment, including three surgeries. Two of his fingers were amputated.