Lester L. Palmer helped to save Cheryl A. Desjardins and attempted to save Clarke S. Desjardins from drowning, Stratford, Ontario, March 5, 1974. Cheryl, 9, and Clarke, 8, neither of whom could swim, ran onto ice on Lake Victoria and fell into an open-water area. Palmer, 43, railroad conductor, crawled on the ice to the open water. He took hold of Cheryl, but the ice broke under him and he also fell into the deep water. Palmer retained his grip on Cheryl and then took hold of Clarke as well. He moved both to the edge of the ice; but when he attempted to get out, the ice broke off. All three persons were submerged. Clarke drowned. Palmer and Cheryl surfaced separately. Men in canoes reached them. Cheryl and Palmer, both then unconscious, were taken to the bank and thence to a hospital. They revived and recovered. 53992-6130
53992 – 6130
53992-6130