Joseph P. Simon died attempting to save Larry J. Utter from drowning, Ithaca, New York, May 24, 1960. At night Larry, 12, a poor swimmer, fell into Cayuga Lake Inlet, where he struggled to stay afloat in water 12 feet deep five feet from a vertical concrete wall, which rose five feet above the water, and 50 feet from a bridge across the inlet. Joseph, 13, schoolboy, dived fully clad from the bridge railing into the water nine feet below and swam to Larry, who was flailing his arms wildly. Before Joseph could obtain a hold on him, Larry grasped him tightly around the neck with both arms and climbed onto his back, causing both boys to be submerged. Surfacing with Larry still on his back, Joseph tried to persuade him to release his hold. As Larry continued to cling to him around the neck, Joseph swam five feet toward the bridge where there was a ladder. From atop the wall another boy extended a board toward Joseph. Before Joseph could reach it, both he and Larry sank and did not return to the surface. Police and firemen arrived, and the bodies of Joseph and Larry were recovered several hours later.
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