Highway Maintenance Technician

Department of Transportation

5/30/1967

Special Act Award (Gold)

On May 30, 1967, Paul V. Johnson, a Los Angeles Highway Maintenance technician risked his personal safety and endangered his very life when he lowered himself down a snowy cliff to reach a 12-year-old boy who had fell more than 1,000 feet. During the rescue attempt, Mr. Johnson fell 40 feet onto rocks during his descent down the cliff and sustained major injuries himself, with ten fractured ribs and a punctured lung, but he still continued on to reach the boy and give him comfort until help arrived.