Robert Stephen Farrow, 18, student, saved Frederick S. P. Van Peenen, 6, from drowning, Round Spring, Missouri, September 5, 1965. When their canoe capsized in the flooded Current River, Frederick, his father, and a youth were submerged briefly in water six to eight feet deep 30 feet from the bank. Farrow and James Alan Mulvaney, in another canoe, quickly paddled to the overturned craft. Frederick, who could not swim, then appeared at the surface 25 feet downstream. His father started to swim after him. Farther downstream much debris had accumulated against a fallen tree which extended 20 feet from the bank. Fearing the father could not reach Frederick before the latter become entangled in the debris, Farrow dived from his canoe, which capsized and threw Mulvaney into the water. The other youth then lost his hold on the first craft and also was carried downstream in the swift current. Farrow swam 50 feet and reached Frederick, who was submerged except for the top of his head. Lifting him to the surface, Farrow started to tow him to the bank. He swam and drifted 30 feet to within five feet of dry land, where he secured a hold on a branch of a partially submerged tree. From there he made his way to the bank with Frederick. Meanwhile Mulvaney had noted that the youth was in difficulty. He swam 80 feet, reached the youth, and started to tow him to the bank. Before they could reach dry land the current carried them 60 feet farther down stream and into the debris at the fallen tree about eight feet from the bank. Mulvaney helped the youth to climb onto the tree trunk, on which he made his way to dry land. Kicking his feet to keep them free of the debris, Mulvaney worked his way along the tree to the bank. By then Frederick’s father also had reached the bank.
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