William A. De Luca, 24, longshoreman, saved John Palmato, 33, warehouseman, from drowning, Brooklyn, New York, March 2, 1957. While helping to move cargo from the bulkhead of the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Palmato, who could not swim, stepped back hurriedly to avoid a falling crate and fell into near-freezing water 35 feet deep in New York Harbor. His efforts to remain afloat, together with a slight current, carried him away from the bulkhead; and he called for help. De Luca was attracted with others and ran 100 feet to the edge of the bulkhead, where he removed his jacket but did not take time to unlace his high leather boots. Heavily clothed, he dived into the water and surfaced behind Palmato, who then was 20 feet from the bulkhead. De Luca took hold of Palmato as he started to sink and began towing him toward the bulkhead, progressing only slowly due to the weight of his clothing and of Palmato. A life preserver was tossed toward De Luca, who reached it 10 feet from the bulkhead. Holding Palmato with one hand and the preserver with the other, De Luca experienced difficulty because of his heavy boots. Firemen who had been summoned threw a rope toward De Luca, who released the life preserver and swam with effort to the rope, by which he was drawn to the bulkhead still holding to Palmato. A tugboat arrived and took De Luca and Palmato aboard. De Luca, who had been in the water 10 minutes, was extremely tired and somewhat numb. He and Palmato were removed to a hospital and treated for shock and exposure. They recovered. 44098-4151
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