Larry E. Smith

Larry E. Smith saved LoRene J. Limbird from drowning, Sandusky, Ohio, July 5, 1969. At night during a severe rainstorm, Mrs. Limbird, 66, was trapped in the fruit cellar of her home when floodwater caused a basement wall to collapse. As the water rose, Mrs. Limbird, who could not swim, opened a small window but could not remove the outside screen. Her calls for help attracted Smith, 29, machine shop operator, and two other men. Smith feared that Mrs. Limbird could not get through the narrow window. He went to the basement. In the floodwater Smith swam to the door of the fruit cellar but could not open it. He pulled off several boards from the wooden partition and then was able to enter the smaller room, where a light was burning overhead. Smith’s path to Mrs. Limbird was blocked by a freezer which was floating in water about six feet deep. Diving under the freezer, Smith surfaced at the other side and made his way to Mrs. Limbird, who then was floating atop the rising water while holding to an overhead joist. Smith supported her until the window screen was removed. He then thrust her feet through the opening. The two men outside pulled Mrs. Limbird from the cellar. The rising water reached the overhead light as Smith crawled through the window.