Two Iowans awarded Carnegie Hero medals; Gazette article about Manchester man

List of 23 recipients of Carnegie Hero medals

The Associated Press

Recipients of Carnegie Hero medals, which were awarded Tuesday:

-Seth C. Russell, 45, of Portland, Ore., and Ryan W. Derry, 34, of Sherwood, Ore., rescued an unconscious 20-year-old man from burning after his vehicle crashed into a hillside in Portland on Aug. 30, 2008.

-Michael Paul Mizzone, 47, of Orange, Conn., rescued his unconscious 82-year-old neighbor from burning during an accidental fire in the man's home on Feb. 12.

-Darryl A. Putz, 46, of Manchester, Iowa, rescued a 46-year-old tractor-trailer driver who was trapped as leaking diesel fumes ignited after the driver crashed into two other rigs in heavy fog in Ryan, Iowa on Dec. 19, 2007. [see article from Gazette archives at bottom]

-Kurt James Johnson, 43, of Bloxom, Va., saved a 3-year-old girl from a burning car after the girl's mother and two siblings were able to escape after a crash in Pastoria, Va. on Feb. 6.

-Elizabeth M. Kelley, 26, of Peoria, Ill. saved a 50-year-old woman who was being assaulted by a man who stole her car from the parking lot of a mall in Peoria on Dec. 17, 2007. The man was later apprehended.

-Timothy B. Haas, 17, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was killed attempting to rescue his father from an above-ground gasoline storage tank, and Timothy's brother, Paul Haas, 19, suffered chemical burns and respiratory distress trying to help their father, Bruce Haas, 49, rescue Timothy who asphyxiated in the tank on May 30, 2007 in Chagrin Falls.

-Michael Allen Hill, 44, of Larwill, Ind., and Jason Wayne Spencer, 35, of Columbia City, Ind., helped save an 18-year-old woman from burning when her car went off a snowy bridge and landed in its roof in a creek in Columbia City on Feb. 21, 2008.

-Mark C. Moore, 48, and Dalton Lewand, 34, of Tallahassee, Fla., helped save a 67-year-old car passenger from burning after the vehicle was broadsided, rupturing its fuel tank in Tallahassee on July 5, 2008.

-Derek C. Merman, 18, of Lake Grove, N.Y., attempted to save a 25-year-old man who was carried from shore by a strong current at Hampton Bays, N.Y. on July 25, 2008. The victim drowned even though Merman was able to bring the man close enough to shore so others could wade out and pull him from the water.

-James P. McCaskey, 42, of Bartlett, Tenn., helped to save a 47-year-old father and his 17-year-old son from drowning in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Fla. on July 22, 2008.

-Richard Shawn Harper, 38, of Fort Worth, Texas, helped save a 9-year-old girl who climbed into a drainage ditch and was swept by currents into an underground chamber where the water was 55 degrees. Harper held onto the girl until firefighters arrived to rescue both on March 13 in Richland Hills, Texas.

-Brandon Rothrock, 25, of Ellenboro, N.C. and Joshua A. Bumgarner, 23, of Bostic, N.C., rescued an 80-year-old woman from a fire in her home in Forest City, N.C. on March 19.

-Walter M. Gannon, 55, of Belvidere, Ill., rescued a fellow 50-year-old school teacher who was assaulted and stabbed in the eye by a student who was then arrested in Elgin, Ill. on Jan. 18, 2008.

-Rolando Campuzano Sr., 26, of Warm Springs, Ore., died trying to save his 4-year-old son from burning in a fire in their home. Father and son were found dead of smoke inhalation on Jan. 14.

-Allen Chadwick Harris, 24, of Nashville, Tenn., saved a 3-year-old neighbor boy from burning in a fire in his home on Jan. 28, 2009.

-Derek J. Creel, 19, of Warrior, Ala., saved a 7-year-old boy while also trying to save the boy's 42-year-old father when their canoe capsized on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River in Warrior on March 27. Creel managed to lift the boy out of the water and onto a tree, but could not hold onto the boy's father who was swept away and drowned.

-Krista D. Girvan, 25, of Edmonton, Alberta, swam to save a girl from drowning after she was swept into the North Saskatchewan River while wading on July 17, 2008.

-Kim R. Grove, 45, of Pilot Mount, Iowa, saved a 58-year-old driver after the man's car entered the Des Moines River in Pilot Mount and sank with him in it. After reporting the accident, Grove swam in the icy water on Feb. 22 to help save the driver who had emerged from the car and surfaced.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Manchester man a hero to injured truck driver

Gazette, The (Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, IA) - Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Harold Minor Jr. doesn't know Darryl Putz, but he wants to thank the Manchester man.

Last Wednesday morning, Minor's semi-trailer truck slammed into the side of a jackknifed semi-trailer truck that was blocking Highway 13 south of Ryan and rolled into the ditch.

The cab exploded. The Lebanon, Tenn., man couldn't escape, said Minor's fiancee, Diamond Christiana, 51.

That could have been the end.

But Putz, of Manchester, was driving to Cedar Rapids to do Christmas shopping. He turned onto the highway just as the wreck happened. He called 911. He stopped his van and got out to see if anyone needed help. He yelled to see if there was anyone in the cab, and he heard a man yell back.

He climbed up onto the wreckage of the shattered cab. Flames were shooting up into the driver's seat, burning Minor's feet and legs.

When he found he couldn't move Minor, Putz grabbed a blanket from the cab and threw it over Minor, smothering the fire on his body. Minor's seat belt was still latched, but once the fire was out, Putz was able to undo it and drag Minor into the ditch.

"I just reacted, I guess," said Putz, who wasn't injured during the rescue. "I didn't really think about it. ... I was more worried about more people crashing into the wreck."

That gut reaction, Christiana contends, makes Putz a hero.

"He put his own life in danger to save Harold's," she said. "I know he'd like to speak to him if possible, and tell him how much that means to us."

Minor doesn't remember much about the crash, which happened in the midst of dense fog that limited visibility to 100 feet. Confused in the gray haze, he had gotten lost and turned around on Highway 13 to drive back toward Manchester, where he had a delivery to make for Simon's Trucking of Farley.

"He didn't even see the side of that trailer. It blended right in," Christiana said.

They found out who Putz was through the trucking company and are aiming to meet him. The men have at least one thing in common -- they are both 46 years old.

Minor remains in serious condition at University Hospitals with third-degree burns covering 40 percent of his body, mostly the lower half, said Christiana.

Stitches hold together a laceration in his head. The burns, for now, have left him unable to walk. He's facing more surgeries and therapy but is improving, she said,

"He's a strong-willed man. He's too stubborn to die," Christiana said with a laugh. "He'll pull through."

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