George C. Reitmeier, 9, schoolboy, died attempting to save J. Louis Laber, 15, glassworker, from drowning, Cumberland, Maryland, January 20, 1916. The ice on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal broke and allowed Louis to fall into water six or seven feet deep, 20 feet from the bank. The ice broke when he tried to climb out. George went to the hole and reached a short board toward Louis, but the ice broke and let George fall into the hole. Futile efforts were made by others to help George out with a long iron rod, but he sank and was drowned. Louis was later rescued with the rod. 16420-1241
16420 – 1241
16420-1241Obituary
George C. Reitmeier, 9, of Cumberland, Md., died on Jan. 20, 1916, attempting to save a 15-year-old boy from drowning in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
Reitmeier was born on Feb. 18, 1906, to Francis X. and Melissa E. Reitmeier.
In October 1916, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission posthumously awarded Reitmeier the Carnegie Medal for his rescue attempt.
He was buried at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery in Cumberland.