John A. S. Walker, 39, civil servant, saved Kathleen A. and Isabel K. Van Lierde, 7 and 37, respectively, and Gwenda Lambton, 53, from drowning, Shirleys Bay, Ontario, June 30, 1968. When the cabin-catamaran in which they were riding capsized in the Ottawa River and remained overturned, Kathleen, her mother, and Mrs. Lambton were trapped beneath the craft and came up inside one of the fiberglass pontoons. Their feet were in the flooded cabin but their heads were above water inside the pontoon, where there was only a limited amount of air. A number of boats arrived to give aid. Walker entered the water and conversed with the women through the fiberglass, explaining his plan for removing them. He then began diving, each time going about four feet beneath the surface and five feet into the cabin. With a line held by men at the surface, Walker entered the cabin and wrapped the line around the leg of one of the women. On another dive he took hold of Kathleen, who had the line tied around her waist and had been pushed down to him in the flooded cabin. Walker started out with Kathleen, who became stuck in the doorway. After freeing her with some effort, Walker took her to the surface. He then returned the line to the women, after which he met Mrs. Van Liarde in the cabin and surfaced with her. The line was taken to Mrs. Lambton. When Walker met her in the cabin and started out with her, she became stuck. Walker tried to free her. She clamped her legs around him, struggled, and then lost consciousness briefly. Walker pulled her through the hatch and surfaced with her.
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