Joseph De Moura, Jr., 48, truck driver, saved Michele A. Martin, 5, and four others from drowning, Stavanger, Illinois, August 31, 1967. Michele and her two brothers were passengers in a four-door sedan driven by their grandmother and accompanied by another woman when the vehicle went out of control and entered a lake. As the automobile began sinking slowly in water nine feet deep, the women called for help from a number of persons who had gathered on the nearest bank 20 feet away. De Moura, a very poor swimmer, entered the water fully clothed and swam to the sedan while another man waded to five feet from the bank. Through an open window De Moura removed Michele and took her and one of her brothers to the man, who passed them to persons on the bank. On return trips to the sinking automobile, De Moura removed the second brother and then opened a door to remove the other woman. He took each to the man near the bank. Once more returning to the sedan, the top of which then was only about four inches above the surface, De Moura removed the grandmother and towed her to near the man in wadable water. Winded and tired, De Moura thrust her to the man, who took her to the bank. De Moura followed.
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