Sergeant Harold J. Collins

Harold J. Collins

Sergeant Harold Collins contracted poliomyelitis while administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of a seven-year-old drowning victim on November 7th, 1955.

He responded to a call of the child being found face down and unresponsive in Lee Pool, in modern-day Lederman Park in Boston. He immediately began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and was able to revive the child.

During her hospital stay, the girl was determined to be a carrier of all three strains of the poliovirus. Sergeant Collins contracted the virus and suffered the effects of the disease over the years, and retired from active duty in 1979. Sergeant Collins was struck with the post-polio syndrome in 2004 and died of its effects on May 31st, 2012.

Sergeant Collins was a U.S. Navy WWII veteran and served with the Metropolitan Police Department for 29 years. He is survived by his wife, three children, sister, and four grandchildren.