Roy Shleppey saved Henry W. Simmen from burning, Delano, California, May 22, 1932. An aeroplane, in which Simmen, 47, truck driver, was riding, dropped to the ground in upright position and burst into flames. Simmen was thrown from the aeroplane and lay under the cabin. Shleppey, 28, salesman, ran to Simmen, grasped his feet, and then was forced by the heat and smoke to release his hold and run 10 feet from the aeroplane. Flames extended for 15 feet back from the nose of the aeroplane and were spreading rapidly. Holding his coat over his head, Shleppey ran to Simmen, and, releasing his coat, he grasped Simmen’s feet with both hands. A puff of flame struck him in the face, singeing his eyelashes and eyebrows, and he again left him. The entire surface of the aeroplane was afire, and dense smoke arose from it. Holding his coat over his head, Shleppey returned to Simmen, and, with his back toward the aeroplane, he stood astride Simmen’s legs, grasped his feet with both hands, and dragged him away from the aeroplane. Simmen was not burned but was unconscious and died two days later from injuries sustained in the fall. Shleppey sustained second-degree burns on his face and hands and was disabled for a week. 32151-2795
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32151-2795