Thomas W. Terry, III

Thomas W. Terry III saved Lori Lee Cass and other children from drowning, Brinkhaven, Ohio, May 19, 1969. When a footbridge over the flooded Mohican River gave way, Lori Lee , 12, and other children were thrown into the water and carried downstream by the swift current to two separate points 10 feet from a partially flooded island. Some of the children climbed onto an accumulation of driftwood while others clung to partially submerged bushes. Terry, 19, college student, and a 16-year-old youth ran to the riverbank and, although swept downstream some distance while doing so, swam to the island 100 feet away. From there they waded to the clump of bushes and removed some of the children. A girl who had been clinging to the bridge wreckage lost heir hold and was carried downstream. While the other youth swam to her and towed her to the island, Terry removed the rest of the children from the clump of bushes. The two youths then sought to get the other children but found the current in the 10-foot channel between the driftwood and the island too swift to cross unaided. They noted that a floating limb had become positioned against a tree on the edge of the island and also against a partially submerged tree around which the driftwood had collected. Terry held the limb in place while the other youth, holding to it, waded to the driftwood and back, each time bringing one of the children. All waited on the island until a boat arrived and removed them to the bank.