Robert F. Ramirez

Robert F. Ramirez, 25, apprentice carpenter, attempted to save Marc Bailhe, 3, from drowning, San Diego, California, October 25, 1948. While playing with other small children near the edge of an almost sheer cliff 40 feet high rimming a small cove of the Pacific Ocean at Sunset Cliffs, Marc dropped into the cove and drifted seaward. Ramirez, who was fully clothed and wore heavy shoes, slid down a projection of the cliff to a narrow ledge that was 27 feet above water two and a half feet deep, and jumped, striking the bottom near two large rocks and slightly straining an ankle. Limping, he waded to deeper water, removed a sweater, and swam 70 feet through breakers two feet high to Marc, who floated unconscious beyond the mouth of the cove in water six feet deep. While swimming to Marc, Ramirez suffered cramps in his thighs but they soon disappeared. He towed Marc 60 feet an then waded 60 feet carrying him to a small beach at the center of the cove. Holding Marc he was drawn to the top of the cliff by means of a cable. Marc could not be revived. Ramirez was chilled, fatigued, and nervous afterward.