Marion P. Shields, Jr., helped to rescue August W. Landergen from burning, Fortuna, California, November 8, 1972. In a highway accident the pickup truck driven by Landergen, 77, landed upside down and caught fire. Landergen, semiconscious, was lying part way through the open door of the cab. Ammunition in the cab was exploding as Shields, 30, mechanic, and another man ran to the truck, approaching to within a foot of flames rising eight feet from the ground. Heat was intense. Neither Shields nor the other man was struck by projectiles as they pulled Landergen out of the cab, which soon afterward, was engulfed in flames. Landergen recovered from his injuries and burns.
53072-6024