Joseph Campesino, III

Joseph Campesino III helped to save Weston C. Roberts and Timothy W. Swieckowski from drowning, Fort Collins, Colorado, April 12, 1986. Weston, 10; Timothy, 11, and two other boys were on a paddle boat on Lake Sherwood when the boat took on water and sank. The boys cried for help and struggled toward the bank. Nearby, Campesino, 33, heard the boys and ran to the lake. Despite being disabled, Campesino entered the lake, swam 300 feet to Weston and Timothy, and pulled them to the surface of the water. A struggle ensued, during which Campesino,, exhausted, submerged. Others entered the water with a boat and pulled Campesino and the boys aboard; they took them to the bank. The boys were uninjured, but Campesino was hospitalized overnight and treated for exhaustion and hypothermia, from which he recovered.