Ronald E. L’Heureux, 16, schoolboy, died helping to save Arthur Boutiette from drowning, Manville, Rhode Island, February 24, 1963. Arthur, 14, schoolboy, and Ronald, 16, schoolboy, were in a small boat in the Blackstone River when the craft swamped at midstream. Arthur, a poor swimmer, struggled to stay afloat in icy water 20 feet deep and called for help. Ronald swam five feet to him and took hold of his jacket. Arthur flailed wildly as Ronald towed him eight feet to the boat, which then was in an inverted position 70 feet from an ice apron extending 30 feet from the bank. Ronald thrust Arthur onto the flat bottom of the boat and with effort pushed it across the current to the ice apron, which he tried in vain to break. Ronald then became inert and slumped across the corner of the craft with his face in the water. Arthur worked his chest and arms onto the ice and kept his feet on the boat. He called for help. A man was attracted and worked his way 15 feet across the ice atop two logs. Police Detective William M. Ciffo and the chief inspector then arrived, followed soon afterward by other police and firemen. Ciffo removed his coat and shoes. With a rope tied about his waist and held by men on the bank, he crawled on the ice toward Arthur. A fireman moved five feet onto the ice and threw one end of a rope to the first man. Nine feet from Arthur, Ciffo broke through the ice. A life preserver was thrown to him and he carried it with him as he broke the ice ahead of him to open water 15 feet deep three feet from Arthur. Ciffo swam to Arthur and took hold of him, urging him to be calm. Arthur clung to the preserver as Ciffo supported him and reached toward Ronald, who still was inert. The boat then tilted. Ronald slid into the water and sank. Ciffo drew slack in the rope attached to him and fastened it around Arthur’s waist. The first man hurled the end of his rope to Ciffo, who also tied it about Arthur. Others drew on the ropes, pulling Ciffo and Arthur nine feet through the path the former had broken in the ice. When effort was exerted to draw Ciffo and Arthur onto the ice, the fireman and the first man broke through. Both ropes then were released and went slack. As both sank to their eyes, Arthur grasped Ciffo tightly with his arms and legs. The fireman and the first man returned to the bank. The men regained holds on one rope and again attempted without success to draw Ciffo and Arthur onto the ice. Ciffo was too tired and numb to aid himself or Arthur out of the water. Normand F. St. George arrived and saw the situation. Without removing any of his attire, he jumped onto the ice, breaking through. Flailing his arms, he broke the ice ahead of him as, treading water, he made his way 20 feet to Ciffo and Arthur. He then held to the rope with one hand and with the other helped Ciffo to support Arthur. The men drew all three through the path in the ice. By the time he was five feet from the bank, Ciffo was too numb to support Arthur any longer and was aided from the water. St. George, still holding Arthur, was drawn by the rope to the bank. The fire department rescue squad, using boats, soon recovered Ronald’s body. Arthur recovered.
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