Timothy R. Brooks helped to save Terry L. Koller from drowning, Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, December 28, 1960. At night while skating on Lake PaHaGaCo, Terry, 17, schoolboy, broke through the ice 30 feet from the bank into water 17 feet deep, where he called for help as he flailed his arms to stay afloat. Air temperature was eight degrees. Without delaying to remove his skates, Timothy, 15, schoolboy, who was near the bank, lay prone on the ice, which sagged and crawled to within three feet of the hole. The ice then gave way under him, enlarging the hole to 10 feet in diameter as he fell into the water. After sending a companion to summon help, Timothy swam six feet to Terry, and towed him to the edge of the ice nearest the bank. In an attempt to break a path in the ice, Timothy released his hold on Terry, but quickly regained it when Terry again began thrashing and was submerged briefly. Placing Terry in front of him against the ice, Timothy encircled him with both arms and supported him by holding to the edge of the ice. Three men, among them the father of Timothy, arrived with a plank six feet long. Forming a chain, they crawled over the ice toward the hole with the father in the lead and pushing the plank ahead of him. When the ice sagged, the father stopped seven feet from the hole and pushed the plank to Terry, who was unable to grasp it with his numbed hands. Timothy removed one hand from the ice and maneuvered the plank to in front of Terry. As he lifted Terry partially onto the plank, the ice cracked beneath it but did not break. With Terry on the plank, Timothy pushed it to his father and then held to Terry’s skates. The father grasped the plank, and the three men then pulled in tandem, drawing Terry and Timothy to the bank after the latter had been in the water 12 minutes.
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