S. Gertrude Shepard, 51, consultant nurse, saved Vivian M., 21, and Laurens F. Henson, 3, from drowning, Isle of Palms, South Carolina, May 4, 1944. Laurens fell from an anchored boat into water 14 feet deep in Hamlin Creek at a point 250 feet from the bank. Mrs. Henson dived from the boat and rose with Laurens clinging to her. She tried to swim toward the boat but drifted farther from it. Miss Shepard, almost fully clothed, swam across a strong tidal current for 230 feet toward the boat. Becoming tired, she floated and drifted farther from the boat. She then swam toward Mrs. Henson and Laurens and reached them after going 1,200 feet. She pulled Laurens to her, and they were momentarily submerged. Turning on her back, she placed Laurens on her chest and had Mrs. Henson take hold of her leg. She supported them for four minutes until a man, who swam from the bank, reached them and took Mrs. Henson. Almost immediately a rowboat and a motorboat arrived, and all were taken to the bank in the boats. Mrs. Henson was semiconscious but recovered. 40188-3375
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