Emil C. Tews saved Wallace R. Sunderlin from drowning, Waukegan, Illinois, November 9, 1913. Sunderlin, 35, steelworker, went on Lake Michigan during a storm to get a duck that he had shot. He broke an oar, and his boat was carried out on the lake by the wind. The wind was blowing 35 m.p.h., and waves from about 13 feet high were running at right angles to the wind. Attempts were made to go to the rescue in a tug, but the engine would not work, and the tug was twice thrown violently against a pier. Tews, 43, assistant lighthouse keeper, heard of Sunderlin’s distress and went to the rescue in a small rowboat. He rowed a mile before he reached Sunderlin’s boat. He threw extra oars to Sunderlin, and Sunderlin rowed about 75 feet, and then his boat was swamped. Tews rowed about 75 feet to Sunderlin, and Sunderlin climbed over the stern of his boat. Sunderlin pushed on the oars and helped Tews as much as possible during the return trip. The conditions were terrifying. When they reached the pier from which Tews started, men helped to land the boat. Tews and Sunderlin were nearly exhausted, and their clothes were covered with ice. It had taken Tews an hour and a half to effect the rescue.
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