Genevieve J. Zimmerman, 41, housewife, saved John H. Saxon, Jr., 30, and helped to save Hubert G. Pedersen, 36, both military airplane pilots, from burning, Dayton, Ohio, August 21, 1953. Saxon and Pedersen were riding in a twin-engined airplane which crashed upright in a field. The impact shattered the nose and ripped loose the engines and the section of fuselage enclosing the cockpit, which landed on its side. The canopy of the cockpit was torn off, but the windshield remained intact. Fastened in their seats by safety belts, Saxon and Pedersen suffered serious injuries and were rendered unconscious. Gasoline draining from the wreckage was ignited, and dense flames rose about eight feet above one of the wing sections three feet from the cockpit. Saxon revived, wrenched loose his hand, which had been pinned in the wreckage, and unfastened his safety belt. Witnessing the crash from the porch of her home, Mrs. Zimmerman ran 375 feet to the cockpit and removed a section of debris which lay against the rear of Saxon’s seat. She pulled Saxon free of the cockpit and aided him a safe distance from the wreckage. Informed by Saxon of Pedersen’s position, Mrs. Zimmerman immediately returned to the cockpit. She crouched and repeatedly tugged at the seat but could not move it. Her daughter, Darlene J. Zimmerman, reached the cockpit, and she and her mother pulled in unison on the seat but were unable to free Pedersen. Arriving at the wreckage together, Daniel H. Warner and Vernon L. Wheeler took hold of the seat as the others momentarily backed away from the cockpit. The men pulled as hard as they could on the seat without budging it. Heat from the high flames which burned on the wing near the gasoline tanks became intense. Warner, Mrs. Zimmerman, and Darlene made their way to the front of the windshield. Pedersen, who had revived, removed his safety belt. Warner obtained a metal fire extinguisher, and Darlene picked up a stone. They beat on the windshield but were unable to make a hole in it. Marion R. Miller reached the airplane, and he and Wheeler stepped to the front of the cockpit. Darlene and Mrs. Zimmerman resumed their positions behind Pedersen’s seat. Reaching into the cockpit, Mrs. Zimmerman helped Pedersen to remove his parachute harness. The men took turns beating on the windshield and succeeded in making a small hole, which they enlarged. Warner, Wheeler, and Miller worked Pedersen through the opening with effort and lowered him from the cockpit. As the group left with Saxon and Pedersen and hurried toward the edge of the field, an explosive burst of flames enveloped the entire airplane including the cockpit and rose about 30 feet in the air. Saxon was hospitalized two weeks. Pedersen recovered in two weeks. Mrs. Zimmerman suffered a strained back but recovered. 3881-42956
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