New Heroic Comics #72

When four teenage boys capsize in the icy Monongahela River near Brownsville, Pennsylvania, nineteen-year-old Bernard Smigovsky doesn't hesitate—he strips down and plunges into the freezing water to help. As a powerful swimmer, Smigovsky manages to coordinate a rescue effort, keeping the boys afloat and guiding them back to shore, where emergency responders and a growing crowd await. This true-life story captures an act of courage that's earned Smigovsky consideration for a Carnegie Hero Medal, though the humble young man downplays his own heroism.

When an employee at a General Motors plant in Atlanta touches a live power line and plummets from overhead equipment, William L. Landrum witnesses the catastrophe unfold—and without hesitation, positions himself to break the falling man's impact with the concrete floor below. This true-life account follows Landrum's split-second decision and its extraordinary aftermath.

During the early days of the Korean War, Major General William F. Dean takes command of a desperate situation where his troops face overwhelming enemy firepower and dwindling supplies. Choosing to lead from the front, the general advances into the most threatened section of the line to rally his men and buy them time to regroup. His courage and marksmanship become a rallying point for his soldiers as they push back against the advancing enemy forces.

Fourteen-year-old Boy Scout Don Schneider puts his Red Cross lifesaving training to the test when his friend begins to struggle during a swim across Grau's Lake in Missouri. As his pal starts to drown and pulls him under, Don must draw on everything he learned to execute a daring rescue and get them both to shore.

When two brothers ignore their mother's warning and venture onto a frozen river in Roanoke, Virginia, one breaks through the ice and finds himself in mortal danger—until quick thinking and a B-B gun become the tools of an unexpected rescue. Everett Dent crawls out onto the cracking ice to save his drowning brother, using the gun as a lifeline to pull him back to safety. This true story from 1952 serves as a stark reminder of why children should heed their parents' wisdom.

Lansing Carrano, a thirteen-year-old school safety patrolman on Long Island, springs into action when a speeding car threatens a young pedestrian on his watch. His quick thinking and bravery earned him the Automobile Club's highest honor and recognition from the Mayor of New York himself. This true-life account celebrates the courage of an ordinary kid doing an extraordinary job to keep his neighborhood safe.

Since 1931, Harry H. Pope of St. Louis has made a remarkable habit of being exactly where he's needed—pulling drowning swimmers from the Meramac River, rescuing passengers from capsizing boats, and diving into dangerous waters to revive the unconscious. This biographical account chronicles Pope's extraordinary lifesaving rescues across two decades, from his first daring intervention at seventeen through his most recent brushes with tragedy on the water. Whether he's saving one person or three at once, Pope's unwavering courage and quick thinking have made him a quiet hero in his community—and proof that heroism isn't a superhero's exclusive domain.

Dean Shore, a 22-year-old medical student in Philadelphia, witnesses a workman's terrible accident when the man falls headfirst into broken glass—and must draw on his anatomy training and quick thinking to keep him alive before help arrives. With only his fingers and borrowed hemostats, Shore faces his first real test as a potential doctor, learning whether textbook knowledge translates to saving a life in a crisis. Based on this true incident from 1952, "Broken Glass" shows how one student's composure and medical instinct made the difference between tragedy and recovery.

Private First Class Melvin Brown holds an advanced position atop a wall near Kason, Korea, tasked with signaling enemy positions to his squad—but when his ammunition and grenades run dry, he faces an overwhelming assault with nothing but a shovel. This true account from 1952 captures Brown's unflinching courage as he refuses to surrender the ground, even as the odds turn decisively against him.

An 11-year-old Boy Scout named Robert Marlow springs into action when his friend Wesley gets into trouble at a swollen creek, diving in to rescue him even as Wesley panics and pulls him under. After hauling Wesley to safety, Robert turns the frightening moment into a teaching opportunity, giving his pal a swimming lesson so he'll have the confidence to handle water safely in the future.

Buster Crabbe demonstrates the Red Cross's newly adopted back pressure–arm lift method of artificial respiration, walking through the correct hand placement, body positioning, and rhythmic cycle needed to revive a victim in this instructional guide from 1952.