Every year, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission releases a list of American heroes, people who selflessly put their lives in danger to save someone else.

Mercer County and the surrounding area did not have any names on this year's list, but in the past the area has seen its share of heroes.

On Nov. 30, 1995, Susan Marie Cullen Becher, of Jamestown, formerly of Greenville, tried to rescue Regis F. McCann, 67, from a runaway van in Greenville. Mrs. Becher saw the man slumped over the steering wheel of the van, which left the roadway, crossed sidewalks, and struck telephone poles and a home.

Mrs. Becher ran to the van, opened the door and tried to revive the driver and stop the van. She fell and was struck by the van door. The van stopped against a tree. McCann could not be revived.

Mrs. Becher, who was 22 years old at the time, was taken to the hospital for stitches for her injuries.

On June 19, 1988, Francis Theodore Waldo of Jamestown gave his life trying to save his daughter Penny L. Waldo, 15, and Robert E. Mittelstadt, 16, from drowning in Pymatuning Lake.

Neither of the teens could swim. They were wading when they accidentally stepped into deep water.

Waldo, 45, who also could not swim, ran into the water and was pulled under. Penny was saved by others, but Waldo and Robert could not be revived.

Donald R. Shelenberger of Pulaski helped save two teenage boys from burning after a traffic accident Jan. 7, 1972, in New Bedford.

The teens' cars collided, knocking them unconscious. Shelenberger pulled them from the burning cars with the help of a passing mail carrier.

Donna Jo Adamchick of Masury helped save two young girls who were swimming in Shenango River Lake on July 12, 1969.

The girls, ages 13 and 6, were riding in a toy boat 36 feet from the bank in 15-feet-deep water. The boat became swamped, and the girls were plunged into the water.

Ms. Adamchick swam out to the girls and helped pull them back to the bank.

H. Dean Stuyvesant Jr. of Greenville helped save Douglas A. Zimmerman from drowning on Jan. 30, 1968.

Douglas, 12, fell into the Shenango River and grabbed onto a bush 35 feet from the nearest bank. Stuyvesant, a police sergeant, heard the boy calling for help.

Stuyvesant, who could not swim, tied a rope around his waist, waded through the rain-swollen river and held onto the boy until firefighters could rescue them both.

They were treated for exposure and fully recovered.

A Masury man saved two boys from drowning in Shenango River Lake on June 23, 1965. He tried to save their father, too, but was unsuccessful. Arthur A. Somlitz, 36, was fishing when he saw a man and two young boys floundering in deep water.

The boys' father tried to save them by wading into deep water. Somlitz, who was wearing hip-high waders and a jacket, ran to save the boys. He pulled one boy to the bank and made sure the other was safe on a rock. He then began searching for their father, who was found floating face down.

Somlitz brought the father to the bank and began artificial respiration. When others arrived, Somlitz went back into the water and pulled the second boy to safety.

The father could not be revived.

Garfield E. Smith, 13, of Stoneboro died trying to save a 10-year-old boy from drowning in Sandy Lake on April 16, 1940. The younger boy fell from a pier into 9-feet-deep water. Garfield dived into the water and tried to pull the boy to safety. Witnesses said they saw Garfield, with the 10-year-old holding onto his neck, struggling to reach the bank. Both boys drowned.

David James Sweeney, 49, of Wheatland helped save two workers at a steel mill in Farrell on Jan. 18, 1935. The workers were repairing an unused blast furnace when they were overcome by carbon monoxide.

Sweeney, a foreman, realizing there was gas in the furnace, crawled through a 22-inch hole and tied a rope around one of the men, and pulled him to safety.

George W. Masters of Volant saved several people from being murdered on July 23, 1931. A demented man shot and killed four people and wounded several others with a knife, entered another home, killed a fifth person and stole a revolver from the house.

Masters, who arrived to help, approached the man and tried to talk him into dropping the weapon. The man threatened Masters, who shot the assailant in the thigh.

The assailant was treated at the hospital for his wounds and was later judged to be insane.

George P. Boyd, 34, of Mercer tried to save a Mercer man from a department store fire on March 2, 1922. Risking his own life, Boyd went into the dense smoke and high flames to rescue a man who was passed out from smoke inhalation.

A Sharon woman saved a man from being run over by a train Dec. 29, 1909, in Sharon. Margaret Davies, 29, grabbed the 47-year-old man, who had fallen in front of a freight train and pulled him to safety.

Henry Herwig, 33, saved a 15-year-old boy from drowning in the Shenango River on April 27, 1908. Herwig swam 80 feet while wearing hip waders to rescue the boy, who was also wearing waders.