Leo J. Tuomala, 23, laborer, died attempting to save Jack Burnett, 55, barge watchman, from drowning, Portland, Conecticut, March 29, 1938. Burnett fell from a barge into the Connecticut River and drifted in a current of three miles an hour 45 feet from the bank, where the water was 15 feet deep. From the barge Tuomala twice threw a line to Burnett, who did not take hold of it; and then he dived and swam 75 feet to Burnett. Supporting him, Tuomala swam and drifted 75 feet; and then they became separated. Tuomala swam and drifted at least 30 feet farther and then sank and was drowned. Men in a boat got Burnett, but he could not be revived.
37011 – 3067
37011-3067