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I ask you always to think of this signal honour, which the Queen has conferred upon you, as the outward and visible sign of the gratitude of
English men and women for all that you and your colleagues serving under the United States flag did for us when help was desperately needed to save lives from
193:
Leming returned to the USA the year after the flood. Before that, when he announced his engagement (to Mary Ramsay) the town insisted on hosting the wedding. The ceremony was held in June 1953 and was attended by the mayor and other leading figures of the town whilst a large crowd gathered outside.
198:
local women pooled their rations to bake Leming a huge wedding cake and the town presented him with a set of
Doulton china. Since that time Leming returned to the town on several occasions, in 1993 attended the memorial service for the disaster and was presented to the
304:. On 13 July 2012 Hunstanton Town Council approved a motion to name the footway through the Esplanade Gardens "Reis Leming Way". As of November 2021, Reis Leming's George Medal and Soldier's Medal are on display at the RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre.
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259:. He and Staff Sergeant Freeman A. Kilpatrick, who rescued 18 people that night, were the first Americans to receive the medal in peacetime. Presenting the medal,
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170:, with up to 10 feet (3.0 m) of seawater flooding the low-lying South Beach area. Many U.S. service families were quartered there, and Leming's unit, the
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and dragging an inflatable raft, waded through the flood waters in the darkness and rescued 27 people before collapsing from exhaustion and
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report covering Leming's actions in 1953 and his death. Includes archive footage from 1953 and interviews with Leming.
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178:, were mobilised to assist. Leming, a 22-year-old Airman 2nd Class serving as an
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The Queen, who did not present the medal personally as she was in mourning for
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680:"Reis Leming, American Airman Who Saved Britons During a Disaster, Dies at 81"
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by the United States, and on 15 April 1953 was presented with the
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495:"Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service: A Chronology 1946–1981"
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On the night of 31 January 1953 the sea defences of
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502:Office of Military Airlift Command History, USAF
468:"Reis Leming & The 67th Air Rescue Squadron"
229:"1953 Norfolk flood hero dies" (6 November 2012)
265:
146:for his efforts in rescuing people during the
715:
8:
283:On 22 September 1956 Leming was invited to
138:(6 November 1930 – 5 November 2012) was an
722:
708:
700:
20:
558:"George Medal Presented To U.S. Airman".
678:Goldstein, Richard (26 November 2012).
324:
450:"American decoration for flood hero".
367:"1953 floods hero returns to remember"
314:List of recipients of the George Medal
268:the dreadful forces of wind and water.
214:
581:. London. 1 February 1993. p. 5.
360:
358:
251:In March 1953 Leming was awarded the
7:
1091:People from East St. Louis, Illinois
403:. Eugene, OR. 1 July 1953. p. 5
564:. London. 16 April 1953. p. 4.
456:. London. 12 March 1953. p. 6.
182:, could not swim, but dressed in a
142:airman who was awarded the British
14:
1101:Recipients of the Soldier's Medal
365:Meadows, Dick (23 January 2003).
594:"The Second Mayflower Adventure"
223:
85:
66:
1063:Names are in alphabetical order
276:at the time, thanked Leming at
1106:United States Air Force airmen
1096:Recipients of the George Medal
531:"West Norfolk: Tide of terror"
472:Norfolk's American Connections
16:United States Air Force airman
1:
653:"Gale Disaster at Hunstanton"
628:hunstanton-civic-society.org
263:, the Home Secretary, said:
908:Charles Andrew MacGillivary
395:"Hero of British Flood Wed"
1122:
1048:Samuel Tankersley Williams
998:Joseph Warren Stilwell Jr.
667:"Mayflower II is Launched"
592:Charlton, Warwick (2012).
493:Little, Donald D. (1983).
194:At a time sugar was still
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738:
621:"Hunstanton Town Council"
222:
943:Thomas Alexander Parrott
337:hunstanton-council.co.uk
296:ship, that was built at
172:67th Air Rescue Squadron
166:, were overwhelmed by a
111:67th Air Rescue Squadron
44:East St. Louis, Illinois
778:William Francis Buckley
148:North Sea flood of 1953
91:United States Air Force
339:. 2010. Archived from
333:"Hunstanton Memorials"
270:
261:Sir David Maxwell Fyfe
838:Edith Ellen Greenwood
803:Theodore Leslie Futch
763:James Leroy Bondsteel
1053:Walter K. Wilson Jr.
918:Charles J. McDonnell
1028:Leon L. Van Autreve
973:Stephen Silvasy Jr.
828:David E. Grange Jr.
539:. 13 September 2012
428:The Daily Telegraph
292:, a replica of the
241:Official channel. (
196:rationed in England
1013:Clarence L. Tinker
938:José Antonio Muñiz
913:William A. Matheny
863:Patrick J. Hessian
848:William W. Hartzog
793:John Thomas Corley
730:Recipients of the
685:The New York Times
599:Plimoth Plantation
575:"Belated thanks".
400:The Register-Guard
174:, based at nearby
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1067:
1023:Alfred Valenzuela
1018:Jack L. Treadwell
1008:Hugh Thompson Jr.
1003:Thomas Tackaberry
988:Christopher Speer
958:Edwin W. Rawlings
948:Frank D. Peregory
898:Richard L. Lawson
285:christen the ship
278:Sandringham House
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978:John K. Singlaub
963:Richard Scholtes
888:Melbourne Kimsey
818:Hershel W. Gober
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923:Jack N. Merritt
883:Otto Kerner Jr.
858:Anthony Herbert
823:John F. Goodman
768:Leonard Boswell
748:Glenn Andreotta
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732:Soldier's Medal
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253:Soldier's Medal
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218:External videos
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133:Reis Lee Leming
125:Soldier's Medal
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53:4 November 2012
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41:6 November 1930
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953:Colin Powell
928:Leo J. Meyer
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878:Eli D. Hoyle
868:Don Holleder
813:Elmer Gedeon
753:Clift Andrus
689:. Retrieved
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632:. Retrieved
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603:. Retrieved
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541:. Retrieved
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506:the original
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377:. Retrieved
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345:. Retrieved
341:the original
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289:Mayflower II
287:
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257:George Medal
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205:Queen Mother
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144:George Medal
132:
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121:George Medal
55:(2012-11-04)
18:
1086:2012 deaths
1081:1930 births
933:Henry Mucci
903:Reis Leming
853:Mike Hayden
808:John Galvin
783:Max Cleland
743:Marty Allen
691:26 November
407:22 February
243:Flash Video
188:hypothermia
168:storm surge
1075:Categories
1033:David Wade
873:Bob Hoover
758:Aaron Bank
320:References
274:Queen Mary
160:Hunstanton
154:The rescue
62:Allegiance
37:1930-11-06
1038:Ron Welch
634:6 October
605:6 October
578:The Times
561:The Times
543:6 October
536:Lynn News
515:6 October
478:6 October
453:The Times
379:6 October
347:6 October
280:in 1993.
843:Bo Gritz
833:Ed Grady
435:16 April
431:. London
375:. London
372:BBC News
308:See also
239:ITV News
234:ITV News
140:American
80:Service/
673:. 1956.
661:. 1953.
298:Brixham
294:Pilgrim
164:Norfolk
630:. 2012
474:. 2012
211:Awards
117:Awards
82:branch
71:
624:(PDF)
509:(PDF)
498:(PDF)
302:Devon
201:Queen
693:2012
636:2012
607:2012
545:2012
517:2012
480:2012
437:2013
409:2014
381:2012
349:2012
203:and
107:Unit
97:Rank
50:Died
31:Born
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669:.
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533:.
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397:.
369:.
357:^
335:.
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245:.)
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136:GM
723:e
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39:)
35:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
