Joe Max Burton helped to save Phillip L. Clark from drowning, Bald Knob, Arkansas, February 28, 1987. Phillip, 9, was a passenger in a pickup truck that was swept from a bridge into flood waters of Glaze Creek. He was carried about 200 feet downstream by the swift current but established a hold on a tree limb. Burton, 24, and another man heard Phillip’s cries for help. Although he was partially disabled, Burton jumped into the creek and, in the darkness, swam to Phillip. He held onto Phillip and maneuvered against the current back toward the bridge. Meanwhile, the other man waded into the creek and met Burton and Phillip. Burton passed Phillip to the other man, who then carried him to dry land, Burton following. Phillip required hospital treatment for hypothermia but recovered. Burton was cold and exhausted, but he too recovered.
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