William W. Meeteer saved Theodore R. and Karen Ann Landes from drowning, Waynesboro, Virginia, January 4, 1963. Theodore, 5, and Karen Ann, 9, walking on ice covering South River, were 90 feet from the bank when a loud cracking of the ice was heard. Meeteer, 35, foreman, who was near the opposite bank 110 feet away, shouted to the children to crawl toward him. They did so as Meeteer skated and then crawled toward them. He reached Theodore and pushed him to firmer ice, from where he crawled to the bank. The ice then broke under Karen Ann, who was six feet from Meeteer, and she fell into water 12 feet deep but was not submerged. Meeteer crawled to the edge of the hole and reached for Karen Ann, but the ice gave way beneath him and he sank beneath the surface. He rose and then submerged behind Karen Ann, took hold of her, and after three attempts boosted her onto the ice. She crawled to the bank. Meeteer tried for five minutes to climb onto the ice, but it broke off at each attempt, enlarging the hole. Others were attracted and after a number of unsuccessful attempts threw a rope to Meeteer, who was becoming tired and numb from the cold water. Meeteer was pulled from the hole and drawn to the bank.
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