John Walter Bruce saved Allan J. Petty from drowning, Greenwood, British Columbia, November 9, 1971. When his canoe capsized in deep water in a lake, Petty, 24, highway engineer, was unable to move the submerged and inverted craft any nearer the bank, which was 1,000 feet away. After removing some of his attire, Bruce, 22, apprentice mechanic, broke a path through a 20-foot apron of ice at the bank. Finding a log raft, he lay on it and used his hands to paddle it to Petty. The raft tilted when Petty grabbed it; and Bruce was dumped into the water. Supporting Petty with one arm and holding to the raft with the other hand, Bruce swam back toward the bank by using only his legs. With greater effort as the cold water increasingly numbed his limbs, Bruce slowly moved the raft and Petty to wadable water near the bank. Both Petty and Bruce recovered from effects of the cold water.
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