Julian M. Wilkinson, 26, farmer, saved Mary Perrin, 24, from drowning, Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, July 30, 1915. Miss Perrin and a young man, neither of whom could swim, waded from a bar in the Savannah River into deep water. Wilkinson waded 40 feet and swam 20 feet to them. As he reached Miss Perrin, another young man reached her companion. Wilkinson swam 50 feet along the bar with Miss Perrin in an effort to reach wadable water. Unable to gain the bar, because of his weakness and the swift current, he called for help and then swam to a rowboat that was drifting 15 feet below him. He was too weak to get Miss Perrin, who was unconscious, aboard. The other young man had been engaged in a struggle with Miss Perrin’s companion, who sank and was drowned about the time Wilkinson called for help. The young man then swam to the boat and got Miss Perrin aboard. The boat was in a sinking condition and soon had to be abandoned. Wilkinson swam and took Miss Perrin to a snag, where the water was shallow, from which they were later rescued. 15373-1223
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