(Newser)
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When the Cessna he was traveling in with four friends went down in a Kansas field Friday, 27-year-old former Marine Austin Anderson managed to pull friend Hannah Luce, 22, from the burning wreckage. The other three passengers, including the pilot, died at the scene, while Anderson and Luce were somehow able to get to a road for help—but the heroic Anderson later died at a hospital with burns over 90% of his body, leaving Luce the only survivor.
"He served two tours in Iraq, and he was willing to give his life for his country," Luce’s dad tells Good Morning America. "He was willing to give his life for a friend. He was always willing to go that extra mile." Anderson had just graduated, with Luce, from Oral Roberts University. The five friends were en route to a Christian youth rally in Iowa when something went wrong with the plane. Luce is now in stable but serious condition, with burns over 28% of her body.
