2 local heroes save man, 83

As a retired Air Force Officer who served in Vietnam and Desert Shield/Storm, I have fought through my fair share of tough conditions. But 83-year-old Leroy Jackson's survival story from last weekend's flood is nothing short of a miracle.

Jackson, the father of Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Jackson, was on his way home from his high school reunion when his truck was swept off the road into the rushing waters of Clark Creek near Piedmont, Missouri.

Jackson had no escape route as the rippling current pulled his truck down stream in the pitch black, pouring rain. He began to pray as his truck became submerged and stranded in the middle of the stream with water up to his neck. "Dear God, please don't let me drown."

Within minutes of praying, the current pushed his truck against a tree along the bank, allowing him to pull his wet, frozen body out of the truck. He began crawling through a foot of water in a nearby field when teenagers Logan Clay and Josh Trent spotted the 83 year old in their headlights.

They sprinted through the field to rescue Jackson and rushed him to a nearby restaurant where they warmed him and called the paramedics.

Jackson's family couldn't be more thankful for this miracle. "Gramps is our hero for not giving up, which makes these young men superheroes for saving his life," said his grandson David Jackson.

Wayne Wallingford, State senator, Cape Girardeau