William R. Youngs saved Lawrence O. Peterson from drowning, Glen Rock, New Jersey, July 30, 1960. When Lawrence, 10, fell from a bridge into a, rain swollen brook and was submerged briefly in water seven feet deep, the swift current prevented him from swimming either back to the bridge or to the bank 10 feet away, and he called for help as he was carried downstream. Without delaying to remove any of his attire, William, 14, schoolboy, jumped from the bridge into the water, which contained floating debris. He overtook Lawrence after swimming 75 feet. William took hold of Lawrence by the arm and towed him 12 feet diagonally across the current to water six feet deep along the bank, where Lawrence grasped the exposed roots of a tree. William did likewise while maintaining his hold on Lawrence and then boosted him upward. Lawrence climbed out of the water onto the bank, but William lost his hold and was carried away from the bank by the current. Swimming diagonally 90 feet across the brook, he secured footing and waded from the water.
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