Karl Westa
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Karl Westa (April 8, 1875 – March 3, 1949) 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

Karl Westa was born in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and immigrated to the United States. He departed on board the Danish vessel from the port of
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
and arrived in New York City on September 5, 1905. Westa joined the United States Navy from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
and by September 8, 1910, was serving as a
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 ...
machinist's mate 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, Westa 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, Westa 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 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, Machinist's Mate First Class Charles C. Roberts, and Watertender Harry Lipscomb. Westa left the Navy while still a chief machinist's mate. He died at age 73 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 ...
,
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...
.


Medal of Honor citation

Westa'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.


See also

*
List of Medal of Honor recipients The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...
*
List of Medal of Honor recipients in non-combat incidents Prior to 1963, the Medal of Honor could be awarded for actions not involving direct combat with "an enemy of the United States" or "opposing foreign force (actions against a party in which the U.S. is not directly engaged in war with).DoD Awards ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westa, Karl 1875 births 1949 deaths Norwegian emigrants to the United States United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Norwegian-born Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor