R. C. Daniel, 32, apprentice carpenter, saved Andrew H. Doswell, 26, fighter pilot trainee, U.S.A., from burning, Tuskegee, Alabama, September 22, 1943. An airplane being driven by Doswell struck a pile driver in Uphapee Creek and fell on the bank, the nose being three feet above the foot of the bank, which was steeply sloping, and the tail extending up beyond the top of the bank. Flames broke out at the side of the motor, and gasoline flowed on the ground from two tanks under the cockpit and ignited. Flames entered the cockpit, and Doswell tried to open a movable section of the glass canopy but could not open it. Daniel, whose knee had been severely bruised when the airplane struck the pile driver, descended a ladder, jumping six feet to the ground, and ran to the bank 15 feet from the airplane. Men warned him of the danger of an explosion. Heat was intense. Daniel picked up a timber six feet long, climbed eight feet up the bank, and pounded the canopy with the timber but could not break the glass. Flames rose four feet from the side of the fuselage near Daniel. He then pushed against the canopy with the timber, which accidentally slid against the movable section of the canopy and opened it. Doswell fell out close to Daniel, a strap of his parachute snagging in the cockpit. Daniel unfastened a strap at Doswell’s waist, freeing him. He aided Doswell to his feet and away from the airplane. Daniel sustained no burns. Doswell was severely burned but recovered. 40011-3352
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40011-3352