J. Wesley Manning, 17, schoolboy, died helping to save James W. Davis, 24, railroad conductor, and Edward R. Hall, 25, brakeman, from drowning, Shenandoah, Virginia, April 15, 1913. Davis and Hall with two companions attempted to cross the Shenandoah River in a boat. The river was swollen by heavy rains, and their boat was swamped. One of the occupants swam to the bank, and another was drowned. Davis and Hall were carried toward a dam about 1,000 feet downstream. Wesley and a companion went to the rescue in a rowboat, having only a paddle and a pole with which to manage the boat. They reached Davis and pulled him into the boat, and were within reach of Hall 10 feet above the dam when he went beneath the surface. Hall and the boat were carried over the dam, and the boat was upset. Hall grabbed it and held to it until rescued by a man in a boat a quarter-mile below the dam. Davis swam 800 feet and reached the bank. Wesley swam 1,100 feet, diagonally toward the bank, and then sank and was drowned. 10512-861
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