Donal A. Wallace, 20, automotive parts clerk, saved Susan G. Goss, 10, from being killed by a train, Multnomah Falls, Oregon, February 19, 1950. At dusk Susan strayed from her grandfather and ran onto a track on which a train was approaching at a speed of 60 m.p.h. Wallace stepped onto the track and sprinted 25 feet toward the train to Susan, arriving when the train was within 200 feet of them. He grasped Susan by the arm, but she resisted and jerked backward. Wallace slipped and almost lost his footing on the ballast but retained his hold on Susan. Stepping over the rail, Wallace grasped the railing of a retaining wall and pulled Susan from the track, barely clearing the train. With a clearance of 18 inches Wallace held her against the railing as the train passed at undiminished speed.
41955 – 3729
41955-3729