Kenneth E. Kline, 30, patrolman, saved Frankie L. O’Neill, 5, from drowning, Des Moines, Iowa, May 30, 1960. When their boat capsized in the Des Moines River which was receding from flood stage, Frankie, his mother, and his stepfather were thrown into water 18 feet deep and although wearing life jackets had difficulty staying afloat in the swift current. The mother drowned; and the stepfather, who could not swim, was carried to near the bank, where other persons drew him from the water with the aid of a rope. When Kline arrived, Frankie was being carried downstream 110 feet from the opposite bank. Kline dived into the river fully clothed except for his shoes and swam more than 400 feet before overtaking Frankie. He took hold of him by his jacket and swam with the current 235 feet farther to a pier of a bridge, but the current prevented him from securing a handhold. Beneath the bridge Frankie pulled Kline’s tie so tightly that he could not breathe. Kline released Frankie long enough to loosen the tie and then continued supporting him while swimming toward another bridge 300 feet farther downstream. Each time Frankie was rolled over by the water, Kline turned him onto his back again. At the next bridge Kline grasped a pier but could not maintain his hold. The current swept them under the bridge and toward another where policemen and firemen had gathered. The coldness of the water and Kline’s efforts against the current fatigued him. He was submerged several times, once losing his hold on Frankie briefly. From the bridge a fireman threw a rope to Kline who, then close to exhaustion, grasped it. Kline and Frankie, who was unharmed, then were raised separately onto the bridge, where Kline lost consciousness briefly. He recovered. 45117-4365
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