Leonard T. Dixon rescued Robert R. Elder from burning, Laurel Grove, Maryland, February 29, 1952. At night a sedan occupied by Elder, 22, Navy aviation machinist’s mate, and another man skidded and crashed upright into a tree alongside a highway. The front and roof of the two-door sedan were badly damaged. Elder was injured severely and rendered unconscious by the crash, his legs and lower body being pinned beneath the steering wheel. The companion of Elder was thrown clear of the sedan. Flames broke out at the hood and spread into the automobile. Dixon, 40, merchant, was awakened at his home nearby, ran 90 feet to the sedan, and opened the right door. The dashboard and the floor at the front of the sedan were burning fiercely, and heat was intense. Dixon extended an arm into the sedan and took hold of Elder, whose legs were partly in the flames, but could not dislodge him. Dixon ran to the other door but found it was jammed tightly shut by a tree and returned to opposite Elder. Extending his head and arms into the automobile, Dixon seized Elder and with difficulty freed him and drew him outside. As Dixon dragged Elder to safety, the sedan erupted in flames 10 feet high which consumed all but the metal parts of the vehicle. Elder, who also had sustained severe burns, was disabled four months. Dixon suffered second- and third-degree burns of the face and arm but recovered in three weeks. 42533-3787
42533 – 3787
42533-3787