Gordon A. Barker, 45, water district superintendent, helped to save Harold L. Korn, 28, attorney, and saved John A. Nelson, 27, salesman, from burning, South Dennis, Massachusetts, July 4, 1957. At night the automobile driven by Korn, who was accompanied by his wife, was struck from behind by Nelson’s foreign-made sedan, injuring all three persons and badly damaging both vehicles, which burst into flames and stopped 25 feet apart. Korn’s wife escaped from the wrecage and attempted to pull her husband, who was badly dazed, through the open door of the automobile as flames from burning gasoline rose 10 feet in the air at the rear end. Barker was attracted and, extending his head and one arm into the vehicle within two feet of flames burning inside, aided Mrs. Korn in pulling her husband through the door. Barker assisted Korn to the side of the road and then ran to the Nelson automobile, where flames rose three feet from the front end, which housed the fuel tank. He jerked open the door and found Nelson unconscious as flames burned on the ceiling above him. Barker attempted without success to remove Nelson, who was held by a safety belt. Extending his head and arms into the sedan beneath the flames, Barker with difficulty unfastened the safety belt and dragged Nelson to safety. Both automobiles were a total loss. Korn, his wife, and Nelson, all of whom had suffered severe burns from the intense heat, were hospitalized for several months. Barker’s hand was burned slightly when he grasped the hot door handle.
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