New Heroic Comics #65

On a hot summer day, College President Frederick A. Morse takes a stroll along Lake Champlain when he sees two children playing on a pier. Without hesitation, he dives in to rescue a girl who’s fallen into the water, only to be met with gratitude from the child and her doll—but not from the adults, who seem more concerned with the disruption than the act of heroism.

When a nervous horse bolts with a group of children riding in a wagon, panic sets in as the vehicle careens down the road. Glaze Coleman, a quick-thinking neighbor, springs into action to help the terrified children, who are trapped and unable to jump to safety.

Fireman Wilbur J. O'Donell risks everything to enter a burning Brooklyn tenement, believing two young children are still trapped on the top floor. Despite the extreme danger and suffocating smoke, he locates them—only to be caught in a sudden explosion that injures him severely. Months later, he is honored with the James Gordon Bennett Medal for his bravery, humbly stating he was simply doing his duty.

A young police officer from Maumee, Ohio, is off duty but in uniform when he spots a girl struggling in a creek. Despite the danger of weak ice and freezing water, he risks his life to reach her, using a stick to pull her to safety after a tense, icy struggle. The story follows the aftermath of the rescue, as the grateful girl later writes to thank him, cementing his quiet bravery in the eyes of the community.

In a small Florida town, 10-year-old Sylvia Sue Avery rushes into a burning house to rescue a crying baby, braving flames and smoke with fearless determination. Though the house is destroyed, her quick courage saves a life, revealing a pattern of bravery that’s become second nature to her.

When a four-year-old boy catches fire while being babysat, Mrs. Edna Blanchard acts fast to smother the flames and save his life. Though the boy is frightened and in pain, she stays calm and keeps him safe until help arrives. Her quick thinking not only prevents serious injury but also stops the fire from spreading further.

Five-year-old Jimmy Mathy rescues his three-year-old playmate from a goldfish pond after the boy slips and nearly drowns, clinging to Jimmy’s hand as he struggles to stay afloat. Though hailed as a hero, the experience leaves Jimmy deeply shaken, his fear of the pond making him hesitant even as he helps the boy to safety during a photo shoot.

Arthur C. Gaudreau, a Marine Corps veteran visiting his brother’s ice cream stand at Lake Attitash, hears a child screaming and rushes to the lake, where he sees a boy drowning. He swims out to rescue the boy, performs artificial respiration while waiting for help, and successfully revives the child after the fire department arrives. The boy’s mother thanks Gaudreau profusely, but he modestly insists anyone would have done the same.

Three high school students—William Bradley, Ian Donovan, and Robert Nice—on their way to commencement exercises in Lima, Ohio, quickly spring into action when a signal flare is crushed by a trailer truck, sending flames toward a group of pedestrians at a crosswalk. Using their graduation robes to smother flames on two women and rushing to extinguish fire on a man on the ground, their swift, courageous response prevents a worse tragedy. The story ends with the trio continuing to graduation, where they are praised for their bravery.

When visiting their grandparents, young Tommy and his little sister play near a pond, where she slips and falls into the water. Despite his fear of water, Tommy jumps in to save her, holding her above the surface as he struggles through tangled vines. The story highlights his courage and quick thinking, echoing a previous time he saved her from a rolling car.

On a sunny Sunday in Medomak, Maine, ten-year-old Sonny Kimball and his friend sail an imaginary pirate ship on Muskrat Pond, pretending to hunt treasure. When the friend accidentally falls overboard, Sonny stays calm and rescues him, demonstrating quick thinking and courage that earn praise from the boy’s parents.

Cornelius Sullivan, a man taking his usual early train, witnesses a young sailor fall onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train and leaps to rescue him, narrowly avoiding disaster. The story follows Sullivan’s quick thinking and bravery as he pulls the unconscious sailor to safety just in time.

A young woman and her husband, along with another couple, narrowly escape drowning in the Meramec River after their boat hits rocks and begins taking on water. Just as panic sets in, Lee Williamson, a barber from St. Louis, arrives in a small skiff and rescues them all from the treacherous current.

A young boy nearly drowns in a construction site pond near the Penn-Lincoln Parkway, prompting a passerby to rush to his aid. The man, a meteorologist conducting an air pollution test, pulls the boy to safety after a tense rescue, saving him from serious harm. Though the boy is shaken, he’s treated for shock and survives, leaving the rescuer to return to his original task.

A young man named Tommy Streitz, a former high school football star, witnesses a man struggling in rough Lake Michigan waves and dives in to rescue him despite a lingering knee injury. After a difficult swim through strong currents, he brings the exhausted man to shore and works to revive him, earning gratitude and a lesson in caution. Though his athletic past defines him, this moment reveals a different kind of heroism.

A young boy named John Cooney and a city employee, John McGuire, join forces to rescue John’s father after he grows exhausted while swimming too far from shore during a beach outing. When the father begins to struggle and collapse in the water, the boy and McGuire act quickly to pull him to safety.

Fifteen-year-old Gerald Davis, recently awarded his Boy Scout swimming badge, and his friend William Stepro are enjoying a swim at Taylor Lake when they spot two young girls in distress beyond the safe swimming area. After rescuing the girls, they’re shocked to see a young boy floating on a log, struggling to stay afloat, prompting them to quickly dive in and save him despite the danger.

In a dramatic moment at a steep embankment, 11-year-old Nancy Gleason and her younger brother Daniel narrowly escape a sudden sandslide that buries their friend George. With time running out, Nancy and Daniel work frantically to free him, battling exhaustion and fear as they try to keep him from suffocating. The story follows their desperate efforts to survive and save their friend before help arrives.

An eleven-year-old girl is rescued from the icy waters of the Niagara River by Harry F. Zahn, a salesman who leaps in fully clothed to pull her to safety, earning the Flotilla 301 Coast Guard Auxiliary Medal. Meanwhile, another man, George Turner, a truck driver, pulls a trapped man from a burning, overturned freight truck, narrowly avoiding disaster as he drags the victim to safety despite the danger of explosion.