James Aloysius Walsh (July 24, 1897 – May 29, 1960) was a
United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the
Medal of Honor, for his role in the
occupation of Veracruz. Only 16 at the time of his actions, he was possibly the youngest recipient of the Medal in the 20th century.
A native of
New York City, Walsh joined the Navy from there and by April 21, 1914, was serving as a
seaman
Seaman may refer to:
* Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew
* Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies
* Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name)
* ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...
on the . On that day and the next, he participated in the capture of the
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
port city of
Veracruz. For his "extraordinary heroism" during the battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor two months later, on June 15.
Walsh reached the
commissioned officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
rank of
lieutenant before leaving the Navy. He died at age 62 and was buried at
Long Island National Cemetery in
Farmingdale, New York.
Medal of Honor citation
* Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy.
* Born: 24 July 1897 New York, N.Y.
* Entered service at: New York, N.Y.
*
G.O. No.: 101, 15 June 1914.
Citation:
On board the U.S.S. Florida; for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the seizure of Vera Cruz Mexico, 21 and 22 April 1914.
See also
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients (Veracruz)
The United States occupation of the Mexican port of Veracruz lasted for seven months in 1914 and occurred in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, related to the ongoing Mexican Revolution.
In response to t ...
References
:
1897 births
1960 deaths
Military personnel from New York City
United States Navy sailors
United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
Battle of Veracruz (1914) recipients of the Medal of Honor
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