Lawrence P. Rankin

Lawrence P. Rankin helped to rescue Donald J. McCully from a cave-in, Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1977. When a cave-in occurred in a coal mine, McCully, 46, was completely buried alongside a mining machine but was able to breathe because the shale and sandstone rock that had fallen was partially supported by collapsed wooden beams. Rankin, 23, coal miner, and other workmen gathered to assist in the rescue of McCully. After another machine had removed enough rocks to uncover the end of the collapsed boom of the mining machine, a tunnel was dug by hand alongside the boom. It was necessary to cut through a fallen beam along the way as, with the men crawling in and out, the careful removal of rocks finally extended the tunnel to McCully. Rocks were removed from around him. As a result of the efforts of Rankin and the other men, McCully then was pulled from under the rock fall via the tunnel.