Thomas W. Morris sustained fatal injuries attempting to save James Doran from suffocation, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 26, 1918. James, 16, seaman, was overcome by hydrocyanic-acid gas fumes in the hold of a vessel and lay unconscious 43 feet below the bridge deck. Morris, 37, quartermaster, who knew the gas had been used to fumigate the hold, descended a ladder to the bottom of the hold and tied a rope to James. Men then hauled James to the deck, and Morris climbed the ladder 26 feet. He then stopped climbing, murmured that he was being overcome, and dropped to the bottom in an unconscious condition. Later he was removed from the hold by a man who wore a smoke helmet. Morris’s hip and jaw were broken, and he had a slight concussion of the brain. He died three days later. James could not be revived. 18865-1461
18865 – 1461
18865-1461