USA: Roanoke police officer saves three year old, reunites 60 years later

. ROANOKE, Virginia / WDBJ 7 Television / June 5, 2009 If someone saved your life, you'd thank him right? But what if you were too young to show your appreciation? Here's the story of two men who prove it's never too late to say thanks, even more than a half a century later. There were plenty of laughs and memories Friday night at the Fat Cat Diner in Fincastle as two men reunited after a near death experience sixty years ago. "It's fantastic, it's something that I will carry, that man is amazing," says James Palmiter. That man is Wesley Bower who was a rookie on the Roanoke Police force back in 1949. He saved three year old James Palmiter from drowning in the old Lake in Elmwood Park. Patrolman Bower just happened to be driving by with his partner near Elmwood Park when he saw the boy go over the fence and into the water. Bower was able to jump out of the cruiser while it was still moving and grab the boy just as he was going under for the second time. "It was over his head, oh it was over his head," says Bower. According to an account from WDBJ radio, Bower slapped Palmiter on the back and he was alright. "What my mother told me about it was 'I told you, you were going to do that one of these days," says Palmiter. Bower received an officer of the month award but he doesn't think he was a hero. "I had just come back from the Pacific. I got out of the Marines in '46. I was in Iwo Jima so hero didn't mean much then," says Bower. Officer Bower thought about the boy over the years and with the help of a woman from Fincastle tracked him down in Macon, Georgia. Palmiter believes divine intervention brought them together. "He put Wes and I together now because it makes my heart feel fantastic and I know Wes is just tickled pink that they ran me down," says Palmiter. Palmiter is now a methodist minister. Bower is retired and lives in Fincastle. They've quickly become good friends. "He is a very interesting fellow, but I'd hate to have him fall in a pond with me having to pull him out now," says Bower. News7's Justin McLoed: Would you do it? Wesley Bower: I'd try. Just like he did 60 years ago. © Copyright 2004 - 2009 WorldNow and WDBJ7.