Caleb Spencer Langille, 53, electrician, died attempting to save Lawrence M. Dunn, 7, schoolboy, from drowning, Medford, Massachusetts, May 7, 1954. While on a jetty supporting a dam between Upper and Lower Mystic Lakes, Lawrence, who could not swim, fell into the water and immediately was carried over the six-foot-high spillway into the deep water of the lower lake. Langille, a good swimmer, was fishing from the jetty and immediately entered the water without removing his laced boots. He swam 80 feet with the swift current to Lawrence and then attempted to reach the nearest bank. His course deflected by the current, he swam 125 feet but, because the lake widened steadily, he still was 85 feet from the bank when he was met by the father of Lawrence, who had swum from the bank. At Langille’s direction the father took Lawrence and attempted to return to the bank. Langille’s head was visible as he moved eight feet and then sank. When a youth in a rowboat was within 30 feet of the father, the latter lost his hold on Lawrence. After submerging but failing to locate Lawrence, the father was taken to the bank in the boat. Langille’s body was recovered 40 minutes later, but he could not be revived. The body of Lawrence was found three days later. 43741-4065
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