Herbert Murphy, 32, laborer, saved William Bozek, 58, laborer, from drowning, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, November 5, 1937. Bozek fell into water 10 feet deep in a canal and drifted in a current of three miles an hour four feet from a vertical stone wall at the bank that rose five feet above the water. Partly clothed, Murphy, who suffered from a heart ailment, ran 300 feet to a bulkhead at the opposite bank, dived seven feet to the water, which was very cold, and then swam, angling against the current, to a point within six feet of Bozek. Failing to get nearer Bozek, Murphy swam a few feet to the wall at a point where it rose two feet above the water, and scrambled out of the water, having swum 75 feet. He ran 15 feet or more along the bank, dived, and swam a stroke or two to Bozek, who then was two feet beneath the surface and was unconscious. Murphy drew Bozek to the surface and towed him as he swam 10 feet to the wall. Supporting Bozek, he held to a rod that projected from the wall for three or four minutes until other men arrived and pulled Bozek upon the bank. Murphy then was given a hand and got upon the bank. He was winded. Bozek was revived. Murphy contracted bronchitis and was ill for two weeks
36868 – 3049
36868-3049