E. Wayne Johnson, 23, student, helped to save Terrence S. Wright, 14, schoolboy, from drowning, London, Ontario, March 26, 1963. When their canoe capsized in the floodwater of the Thames River, Terrence clung to the overturned craft, but his father attempted to swim to the bank and was drowned. Calling for help, Terrence was swept downstream and carried under a bridge. Johnson was attracted, undressed to his trousers, and entered the cold water, in which there were chunks of ice. Gasping for breath, he reached the canoe 15 feet from the bank in water 14 feet deep. Johnson was unable to move the canoe out of the swift current, which carried them farther from the bank. Terrence lost his hold. Johnson grasped Terrence and drew him back to the canoe. He then moved to the other side of the craft and held Terrence. Johnson and Terrence were tiring rapidly, and their limbs were becoming numb. They were carried under a bridge and approached a second bridge, from which police and firemen had lowered ropes. Terrence grasped one of the ropes but then released it just before he was jerked away from the canoe. Johnson worked his way to the other side of the canoe, grasped Terrence, and drew him alongside the craft. After they had been carried under a third bridge, a rescue squad in a motorboat overtook them and maneuvered close to the canoe, which then was 70 feet from the bank. A policeman grasped Terrence and drew him against the side of the motorboat. The other end of the canoe swung away, and Johnson shouted that he could not hold on any longer. A fireman jumped into the water from the motorboat and held Johnson against the canoe. The motorboat was maneuvered to Johnson and the man holding him, and they were drawn to the side of the boat. Terrence and Johnson were taken to the bank.
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