"Thinking of someone other than himself"

A logger named Leo Moody has lived quietly in Maine for 44 years. He was never in the limelight. Like most of us, he works hard all day and comes home each evening. Is he worried about terrorists fighting in Iraq? Maybe. Does he oppose Obama's immigration policy? Hard to say, since very few people even knew his name until last week. when, like Superman opening his shirt, Leo revealed a brave and noble heart.

Driving home from work, he saw a car overturned in a lake near Kossuth Township, about 175 miles northeast of Portland. Like most of us, he pulled over and called 911. The accident happened after Stephen McGouldrick lost control of his SUV on an icy stretch of Rt. 6 and rolled the vehicle down an embankment into 2-1/2 feet of water. Stephen and his passengers, who suffered minor injuries, all reached shore, but one told Leo that her baby was trapped in the back seat.

Without hesitation, Leo jumped into the cold water and swam to the vehicle. He crawled into the flooded car and used a knife to cut seat belts and release the car seat, freeing a three-month-old baby. He said his hands were so cold he couldn't feel them as he cut the straps, but "I kept telling myself, don't drop the knife." (He always carries a knife for peeling apples.)

Carrying the baby, who was not breathing, he swam back to shore and handed the child to Wade Shorey, another passerby, who used CPR to revive the infant.

Leo's wife Betsy said he arrived home soaking wet and shaken up after the rescue.  Like most Mainers, she apparently doesn't waste words. Asked about his life-saving heroism, she simply said, "Just another reason why I love him...thinking of someone other than himself."