A Life-Saving Incident

A Life-Saving Incident The following incident was sent to the Improvement Era by J. W. Kirkbride, deputy scout commissioner of Benson stake. It tells" of the life- saving of two scouts by Sterling Larson, who, for these acts of bravery was awarded a Certificate of Honor by the National Court of Honor, Daniel Carter Beard, chairman, Boy Scouts of America, dated May 26, 1924. This certificate was presented to him at the annual June conference of the M. I. A., 1924, in commendation, recognition, and appreciation of his manliness, effi- ciency, and quick thought and heroism, in saving the life of Gerald Kenneth Hendricks from drowning, July 19, 1923, and another life, at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. While four boy scouts were swimming in an old pool, formerly a gravel pit, lo- cated in the southeastern part of Richmond, Utah, one of the boys challenged the other to swim across the pool. Gerald Hen- dricks, the challenged scout, though not a good swimmer, accepted. When half way across he became exhausted and went under. Floyd Feltman, one of the scouts present, saw Gerald go down and made a brave effort to save his life, but being small, his will was stronger than his grip and he was forced to give up his task. In the meantime Sterling Larson had noticed the episode and was immediately on the spot and ready for the rescue. He threw the limp arm of his drowning comrade around his neck and held it there with one hand while with the other arm he towed his heavy burden to shore. Gerald was saved and after a short period of rest, returned safely to his home. A few weeks after this incident Scout Larson saved anothed life in a similar way at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. Sterling is one of Richmond's best boys and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. August Larson. At the time of this incident he was fifteen years old, but is at present sixteen and a junior at North Cache High. His vacations are spent at hard work on his father's farm. As a token of appreciation for his bravery, Scoutmaster LeRoy Nelson and M. A. Harrison gave the annual Fathers and Sons' banquet, Benson stake, in his honor. The banquet consisted of a splendid program followed by games and refreshments. Sterling Larson. LeRoy Nelson. Scoutmaster