Fred Henry McGuire (November 7, 1890 – February 4, 1958) was a Hospital Apprentice in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient for his role in the Philippine–American War. He died February 4, 1958, and is buried in Springfield National Cemetery,

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

. His grave can be found in section 29, grave 332.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Hospital Apprentice, U.S. Navy. Born: 7 November 1890, Gordonville, Missouri Entered service at: Gordonville, Mo. G.O. No.: 138, 13 December 1911. Citation:

While attached to the U.S.S. Pampang, McGuire was one of a shore party moving in to capture Mundang, on the island of
Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan ( cbk, Provincia de Basilan; yka, Wilayah Basilanin; tsg, Wilaya' sin Basilan; fil, Lalawigan ng Basilan), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Reg ...
, Philippine Islands, on the morning of 24 September 1911. Ordered to take station within 100 yards of a group of nipa huts close to the trail, McGuire advanced and stood guard as the leader and his scout party first searched the surrounding deep grasses, then moved into the open area before the huts. Instantly enemy Moros opened point-blank fire on the exposed men and approximately 20 Moros charged the small group from inside the huts and from other concealed positions. McGuire, responding to the calls for help, was one of the first on the scene. After emptying his rifle into the attackers, he closed in with rifle, using it as a club to wage fierce battle until his comrades arrived on the field, when he rallied to the aid of his dying leader and other wounded. Although himself wounded, McGuire ministered tirelessly and efficiently to those who had been struck down, thereby saving the lives of 2 who otherwise might have succumbed to enemy-inflicted wounds.

References

: * * United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients United States Navy sailors People from Cape Girardeau County, Missouri American military personnel of the Philippine–American War 1890 births 1958 deaths Philippine–American War recipients of the Medal of Honor Military personnel from Missouri Burials at Springfield National Cemetery {{US-navy-bio-stub

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References