Michael J. Ruthemeyer helped to save Phan V. and Hanh H. Nguyen from burning, Houston, Texas, April 27, 1988. Phan, 45, and his son, Hanh, 19, were trapped inside their car following a highway accident in which a tractor-trailer overturned onto the car and caught fire. Ruthemeyer, 26, service technician, witnessed the accident, then with two other men crawled underneath the trailer to reach the car. As fire spread among the wreckage creating dense smoke and intense heat, Ruthemeyer and the other men forced open the passenger door of the car. They removed Phan and took him to safety. Ruthemeyer then returned to the car and helped one of the other men remove Hanh. Within moments of their crawling from beneath the trailer, the wreckage was engulfed In flame.
63071 – 7314
63071-7314