Charley Lee Coe

ON FEBRUARY 6, 1923, CHARLEY LEE COE MADE A GREAT SACRIFICE. CHARLEY WAS AN OIL FIELD DRILLER AND LIVED WITH HIS WIFE, HELEN (ROSENCRANTS), AND THREE CHILDREN IN NEWTOWN AND THEN IN BURKBURNETT. ON THE DAY HE WAS TO TAKE HIS DAUGHTER TO THE WICHITA COUNTY FAIR, COE SAW A FIRE AT A NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE. COE WORKED HIS WAY THROUGH THE SMOKE-FILLED HOME AND FOUND ARNOLD AND DAVID HAHN (AGES 3 AND 1) TRAPPED IN A BEDROOM. A NEIGHBOR KNOCKED OUT A DOOR PANEL THROUGH WHICH ARNOLD HAHN WAS SAVED. FLAMES THEN OVERTOOK THE HOME AND CLAIMED THE LIVES OF COE AND DAVID HAHN. IN JANUARY 1924, THE CARNEGIE HERO FUND COMMISSION ESTABLISHED A PENSION FOR COE’S FAMILY AND AWARDED HIM A POSTHUMOUS CARNEGIE GOLD MEDAL FOR HIS BRAVE ACTIONS.