Larry Alvin Brown, 15, schoolboy, saved Mildred M. Morton, 11, schoolgirl, from drowning, Houston, Missouri, April 26,1957. While Mildred, who could not swim, was wading across a culvert in a rain-swollen creek, she was caught in a flash flood and swept into deep water, where she was submerged intermittently in the swift current. Brown ran 85 feet to the creek and onto the bridge, from where he lunged into the turbulent water. Dodging driftwood and debris, he swam 125 feet with the current. He reached Mildred in water eight feet deep eight feet from the nearest bank, which was high and nearly vertical, affording no holds. Placing one arm around Mildred, Brown began towing her toward wadable water along the opposite bank. The current diverted his course, and he swam 100 feet before reaching wadable water, where he caught hold of a small tree. Mildred then became terror-stricken and scratched Brown’s face. Brown maintained his hold on Mildred and, moving from one partially-submerged bush to another, waded 25 feet with her to the bank. Mildred had swallowed much water. Brown sustained scratches and minor cuts from the bushes and trees. Both recovered.
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