Roy D. Hembree, 37, mine motorman, rescued James M. Main, 24, student, and William C. Main, 30, trucker, from burning, Kayjay, Kentucky, April 30, 1948. An airplane in which James and his brother William were flying struck high-tension wires, burst into flames, and crashed upright on the bank of a creek. The gasoline tank in front of the cockpit was punctured. The inflammable covering of the fuselage, wing, and cockpit burned off, exposing the metal framework; and the clothing of the brothers was almost entirely consumed. Carrying a jacket, Hembree followed by another man ran to the cockpit, in which flames two feet high partly enveloped the brothers and rose five feet above the tank. Bystanders warned of a possible explosion, and the other man left. Standing on a stirrup fastened to the outside of the fuselage, Hembree reached through the open side of the cockpit, placed the jacket over the shoulders of one of the brothers, and pulled him out. Hembree dragged him 10 feet and was assisted in removing him farther from the airplane. Returning to the stirrup with the jacket, Hembree pulled the other brother out in a similar manner and was again aided in dragging him away from the plane. The brothers died of burns later in the day. Hembree’s eyebrows and eyelashes were burned off, and his eyeballs and palms were slightly burned.
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