Harry Lipscomb (April 2, 1878 – September 7, 1926) was a

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 ...

sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the

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 valor. ...

Biography

Harry Lipscomb Arlington National Cemetery

Lipscomb was born on April 2, 1878, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He enlisted in the Navy from that city in around 1900 and by September 8, 1910, was serving as a

watertender A fireman, stoker or watertender is a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into ...

on the . On that day, while the ''North Dakota'' was conducting tests using oil as fuel, an explosion occurred, killing three sailors and endangering the ship. In the engine room, pieces of hot

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

and coke floated in waist-high hot water, oil was aflame above one of the

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s, and the entire room was filled with smoke, steam, and fumes. Despite these dangers, Lipscomb and five other men of the ship's engineering department entered the engine room to haul the boiler fires and perform other tasks necessary to prevent a boiler explosion. After ensuring the safety of the ship, they then searched for and removed the bodies of the three sailors killed in the initial explosion. For these actions, Lipscomb and the five other men were awarded the Medal of Honor a month later, on October 4. The others were Chief Machinist's Mate

Thomas Stanton Thomas Stanton (1616?–1677) was a trader and an accomplished Indian interpreter and negotiator in the Connecticut Colony, one of the original settlers of Hartford.Society of the Descendants of the Founders of HartforThe Founders of Hartford/ref ...

, Chief Machinist's Mate

Karl Westa Karl Westa (April 8, 1875 – March 3, 1949) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Biography Karl Westa was born in Norway and immigrated to the United States. He ...

, Chief Watertender

August Holtz August Holtz (February 12, 1871 – March 5, 1938) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Biography Holtz was born on February 12, 1871, in St. Louis, Missouri and jo ...

, Chief Watertender Patrick Reid, and Machinist's Mate First Class Charles C. Roberts. Lipscomb reached the rank of

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

before leaving the Navy. He died at age 48 and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

Medal of Honor citation

Lipscomb's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. ''North Dakota'', for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the fire on board that vessel, 8 September 1910.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipscomb, Harry 1878 births 1926 deaths Military personnel from Washington, D.C. United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links