James J. Kennedy

James J. Kennedy, 21, stock clerk, saved Helen K. Drosinski, 45, from drowning, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 3, 1950. At night Mrs. Drosinski dropped from a bridge into the Allegheny River and drifted in cold water 15 feet deep. Kennedy was attracted by calls from motorists and running to the bank disrobed to his underclothing. He sprinted 200 feet along the bank to opposite Mrs. Drosinski and plunged into the water. Kennedy swam 60 feet to within 10 feet of her and grasped a plank floating nearby. He thrust the plank to her, and she grasped it. They drifted 1,100 feet downstream in a current of two to three m.p.h., Kennedy in that distance towing Mrs. Drosinski to within 10 feet of the bank. Firemen arrived and throwing a rope to Kennedy pulled him and Mrs. Drosinski from the water. She suffered from shock and exposure and was hospitalized three days. Kennedy was tired and numbed but recovered.