Michael E. Balukas, 17, schoolboy, saved William H. Bishop, 8, from drowning, Haverhill, Massachusetts, February 16, 1928. William fell into the Merrimack River and drifted in a current of 5 m.p.h. about 15 feet from the bank. Michael, fully clothed, dived into the water from a stone wall that rose eight feet above the water and swam to William Grasping William, he swam toward the wall, dodging an occasional cake of ice and being submerged several times. He reached the wall 25 feet from the point at which he had entered the water. Men had then reached the wall, and a rope was lowered to Michael, to which he held until a ladder was lowered. William was carried to the top by a man who descended the ladder. Michael ascended the ladder unaided. He had been in the water 10 minutes.
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