James Harper McDonald (July 15, 1900 – December 29, 1973) 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 ...

diver and a recipient of America's highest military 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. ...

—for his actions during the salvage of the sunken submarine .

Biography

James McDonald enlisted in the U.S. Navy in October 1920, was discharged three years later and reenlisted in February 1926. Trained as a

metalsmith A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items (for example, tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons) out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest list of metalworking occupations, metalworking o ...

, and later as a diver, he was commended in 1928 and 1930 for his excellent diving work. McDonald was designated a Master Diver in October 1934. From May to September 1939, he was heavily involved in rescue and salvage efforts on the USS ''Squalus''. Four members of the salvage team were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during that operation. James McDonald, then a Chief Metalsmith, and three fellow divers (Chief Machinist's Mate

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, Chief Torpedoman

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, and Chief Boatswain's Mate

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) received their Medals of Honor from

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Charles Edison Charles Edison (August 3, 1890 – July 31, 1969) was an American politician, businessman, inventor and animal behaviorist. He was the Assistant and then United States Secretary of the Navy, and served as the 42nd governor of New Jersey. Commonly ...

during a ceremony held at the Navy Department offices on January 19, 1940. Continuing his Naval service into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, McDonald became a

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 ...

. He retired after the war with the rank of Lieutenant. James Harper McDonald died at the age of 73 and was buried in Fishing Creek Cemetery, Roulette, Pennsylvania.

Medal of Honor citation

Chief Metalsmith McDonald's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as a Master Diver throughout the rescue and salvage operations following the sinking of the U.S.S. ''Squalus'' on 23 May 1939. His leadership, masterly skill, general efficiency and untiring devotion to duty in directing diving operations, and in making important and difficult dives under the most hazardous conditions, characterize conduct far above and beyond the ordinary call of duty.

References

: * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, James Harper 1900 births 1973 deaths United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients United States Navy officers Scottish-born Medal of Honor recipients British emigrants to the United States Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Navy personnel of World War II

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References