Vermont Guard soldier saves 3 from frozen lake on Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, an NCO from the Vermont National Guard was enjoying the holidays in Maine with his extended family when a life-threatening situation played out before his eyes, according to a Vermont National Guard release and a local news report.

Staff Sgt. John Hampson’s five-year-old second cousin was walking on the frozen surface of Clearwater Lake, playing with a new metal detector. In a flash, the ice gave way, and the boy fell into the freezing water. His parents, Hampson’s first cousin and her husband, a Navy Reserve officer, rushed to help, but they too fell through the ice and became stuck in the lake.