June Sickler

June Sickler, 15, schoolgirl, died attempting to save Arthur Coley, Jr., 18, schoolboy, from drowning, Bridgeboro, New Jersey, August 11, 1949. Coley, who could not swim, fell into Rancocas Creek from a dock and was submerged briefly several times in water seven feet deep. He drifted in a current of one-half m.p.h., 85 feet from the bank. June dived from the dock and swam 65 feet to him. Coley, who was much heavier than she, immediately grasped her around the neck and repeatedly thrust himself upward. They drifted 25 feet, June being submerged several times. She told Coley to release her, and he did so. She sank and did not reappear. Her brother swam to Coley with an inflated tire tube and gave it to him. Coley drifted 40 feet holding the tube and was overtaken and towed to the bank by a man in a rowboat. He was hospitalized for four days but recovered. June’s body was recovered 15 minutes later.