John Henry "Dick" Turpin (August 20, 1876 – March 10, 1962) was a sailor 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 ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Turpin was one of the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi� ...

s in the U.S. Navy. He is also notable for surviving the catastrophic explosions of two U.S. Navy ships: in 1898, and in 1905.

Early life and career

Turpin was born on August 20, 1876, in

Long Branch, New Jersey Long Branch is a beachside City (New Jersey), city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,< ...

and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on November 4, 1896.

USS ''Maine''

He was a Mess Attendant on the battleship when it exploded in Havana Harbor, Cuba under mysterious circumstances on the night of 15 February 1898. Turpin was in the pantry of the

wardroom The wardroom is the mess cabin or compartment on a warship or other military ship for commissioned naval officers above the rank of midshipman. Although the term typically applies to officers in a navy, it is also applicable to marine officers ...

when the explosion occurred, and felt the ship "heave and lift" before all went dark. He worked his way aft and climbed out of the wardroom on the captain's ladder and up onto the deck. He dove overboard and was rescued by a motor launch. Turpin was one of 90 out of the 350 officers and men aboard ''Maine'' that night to survive the explosion. According to an

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

that appeared in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', Turpin saw action in China during the 1900

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. The 1900 U.S. Census shows him as assigned to the survey ship USS ''Ranger'' based at San Diego, California. ''Ranger'', however, did not participate in the Boxer Rebellion.

''Bennington'' explosion

By mid-1905, Turpin had been assigned to the gunboat . When that ship was raising steam for a departure from

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, on 21 July 1905, she suffered a

boiler explosion A boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. There are two types of boiler explosions. One type is a failure of the pressure parts of the steam and water sides. There can be many different causes, such as failure of the safety valve ...

that sent men and machinery into the air and killed 66 of the 102 men aboard. Turpin reportedly saved three officers and twelve men by swimming them to shore one at a time. Eleven men were awarded 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 "extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion", but Turpin was not among them.

Later career

Before and following the ''Bennington'' explosion, Turpin was assigned to

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

in California. It was during this time he probably learned to be a diver. In 1915 Turpin worked as a diver in efforts to raise the sunken submarine USS ''F-4'' in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. He became qualified as a "Master Diver" - most probably the first African-American sailor to do so. (It is often erroneously reported that Master Chief Petty Officer

Carl Brashear Carl Maxie Brashear (January 19, 1931 – July 25, 2006) was a United States Navy sailor. He was a master diver, rising to the position in 1970, despite having his left leg amputated in 1966. The film '' Men of Honor'' was based on his life. E ...

held this honor.) Turpin was also credited with being involved with the development of the underwater cutting torch. Turpin served on several other ships before leaving active duty service in 1916. After the United States entered

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in April 1917, Turpin was recalled to service. On 1 June 1917, he became a Chief Gunner's Mate on the cruiser , which made him among the first

s in the U.S. Navy. Turpin served at that rank until he was transferred to the Fleet Reserve in March 1919. In October 1925, Turpin retired at the rank of Chief Gunner's Mate. During his time in the Navy, he was the Navy boxing champion in several different weight classifications throughout his Navy career and was a boxing instructor at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

Other assignments

In addition to the above-mentioned ships, Turpin was assigned to the following ships during his career: USS ''Badger'', USS ''Cheyenne'' (BM-10), USS ''Pittsburgh'' (ACR-4), USS ''Severn'', USS ''Hartford'', USS ''Independence'', USS ''South Dakota'', USS ''Alert'', USS ''Ranger'', USS ''Montgomery'' (C-9), USS ''Vermont'' (BB-20).

Later life

After his retirement from the Navy, Turpin was employed as a Master Rigger at the

Puget Sound Navy Yard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

; he was also qualified as a Master Diver in his civilian duties. During

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 ...

, Turpin tried to return to active service but was denied on account of his age. He volunteered to tour Navy training facilities and defense plants to make "inspirational visits" to African-American sailors.

Death

Turpin died in Bremerton, Washington on 10 March 1962. He was survived by his wife Faye Alice. At his funeral, his pall bearers were six Navy chief stewards. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried at sea. There is a cenotaph on his honor at the Ivy Green Cemetery in Bremerton. In recognition of Turpin's accomplishments, the Post Office at 602 Pacific Avenue in Bremerton, Washington has been renamed the John Henry Turpin Post Office Building. The bill renaming the Post Office was passed unanimously by both chambers of the U.S. Congress and signed into law on Dec. 21.

Awards

* Good Conduct Medal *

Navy Expeditionary Medal The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936. Award criteria The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

China Relief Expedition Medal The China Relief Expedition Medal was a decoration of the United States military which was issued to members of both the United States Navy and the United States Marines for service in the China Relief Expedition between 1900 and 1901 during the ...

Nicaraguan Campaign Medal The Nicaraguan Campaign Medal is a campaign medal of the United States Navy which was authorized by Presidential Order of Woodrow Wilson on September 22, 1913. A later medal, the Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal was authorized by an act of the Un ...

Mexican Service Medal The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military for service in Mexico from 1911 to 1919. History The Mexican Service Medal awarded by the Army was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December ...

* World War I Victory Medal with two service stars

References

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin, John Henry 1876 births 1962 deaths United States Navy sailors People from Long Branch, New Jersey