Jumped 20 feet down from the SS Leopoldville to the HMS Brilliant

William Moomey did one of the bravest things of his life when he leapt to safety on Christmas Eve, 1944, after his ship was torpedoed on the English Channel. This photograph was taken by an unknown photographer shortly before his death in his hometown Kearney, Nebraska.

i asked an emergency department physician the likelihood of survival for a trained 20-year-old jumping such a distance and he replied that it would be painful, but survival would be nearly certain.  Of course, if the lower ship were coming up as the soldier was dropping, the impact could equal a 100 ft jump.