Ronnie D. Upton saved Arturo and Abel DeLeon respectively, from drowning, Olton, Texas, July 22, 1963. When Arturo, 4, Abel, 2, and their five-year-old brother stepped onto a concrete slab six feet square atop a cesspool, the surrounding earth gave way and dropped them and the slab into sewage sludge and water 25 feet deep. The slab became wedged diagonally against the side of the cesspool which, because of the fallen earth, then tapered from seven feet at the opening to four feet in diameter 10 feet below the top. Abel became lodged atop the slab four feet below the surface, but Arturo sank farther. The other brother climbed out and summoned help. Upton, 27, schoolteacher, arrived and was told that two boys had fallen into the cesspool. After undressing to his underwear, Upton dived into the contaminated water and located Arturo nine feet below the top. He surfaced with Arturo , who was inert, and lifted him onto the ground. While Arturo was being revived, Upton submerged three times to a depth of nine feet, probing but failing to locate Abel. On his next submersion he found Abel atop the slab. Upton took Abel, who was inert, to the surface and lifted him from the water. He then climbed out and revived Abel.
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