Robert Ray Dodd died helping to save Thomas R. Dodd from drowning, Bristol, West Virginia, July 5, 1987. Thomas, 15, submerged in four and one-half feet of oil contained in a storage tank near his home. His father, Robert Ray Dodd, 35, ran to the tank, climbed it, and, after calling for Thomas, descended into the tank through an opening in its top. Submerging, Dodd located Thomas and lifted him to the surface of the oil, then lifted him to a man at the opening. The man pulled Thomas out of the tank. Dodd submerged in the oil. Others pulled him out later, but he could not be revived. Thomas was hospitalized for his injuries.
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