Carnegie Hero
Robert B. Gottschalk ’66
Summer 2005
Psychiatrist Robert Gottschalk
of Richmond, Va., spends a lot of time commuting 60 miles each day
to work at Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg. It was during such
a commute last year that his alertness and courage were tested.
A woman and her two children wrecked in front of him, and her car quickly
caught fire. Gottschalk ran to the car and pulled the woman from the
driver’s
seat. Another driver, Seth Stein, saw the smoke, stopped and pulled
the children from the flames. Thanks to the two men, the family was
saved with little injury.
Gottschalk and Stein each received the Carnegie Medal for heroism earlier this
year. The medal is given throughout the United States and Canada to those who
risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save
the lives of others. Each of the awardees or their survivors also receives a
grant of $3,500. The Carnegie Hero Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie in 1904.
Gottschalk earned a Clemson electrical engineering degree in 1966 before going
on to medical school.
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