Ludwig Andreas Olsen (1845 – February 20, 1886), also known as Louis Williams, 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 one of only 19 people to ever be awarded two

Medals 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. Th ...

. Both awards were for non-combat actions rescuing fellow seamen.

Biography

Olsen was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

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 ...

, in 1845. He joined the Navy from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1870,Profile
/ref> under the name Louis Williams. He eventually achieved the rank of

Captain of the Hold A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superi ...

, an enlisted position that placed him in charge of keeping order in the ship's

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

. On 16 March 1883, aboard the screw

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

off

Honolulu 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 ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, Olsen jumped overboard and saved a fellow sailor from drowning. The next year, on 13 June 1884 off the coast of

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, Olsen again saved a man from drowning, along with Ordinary Seaman Isaac L. Fasseur. For each of these peace-time actions he was awarded a Medal of Honor; Fasseuer also received the medal for the 1884 rescue. Both medals were presented to Olsen on 18 October 1884, making him one of only 19 people to receive two Medals of Honor and one of only 14 people to receive two Medals of Honor for two separate acts. Both medals were awarded under the name he had enlisted with, Louis Williams. Olsen's awards were for peace-time actions; it can be argued that today he would be awarded the

Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The medal was established by an act of Congr ...

. Olsen died on 20 February 1886 and is buried in

Cypress Hills National Cemetery Cypress Hills National Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It is the only United States National Cemetery in New York City and has more than 21,100 interments of veterans and civilians. ...

, Section 6, Grave 12616, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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Medal of Honor citations

First Citation:

For jumping overboard from the U.S.S. Lackawanna, 16 March 1883, at Honolulu,
Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
, and rescuing from drowning Thomas Moran, landsman.

Second Citation:

Serving on board the U.S.S. Lackawanna, Williams rescued from drowning William Cruise, who had fallen overboard at Callao, Peru, 13 June 1884.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Ludwig Andreas 1845 births 1886 deaths United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients United States Navy sailors Norwegian-born Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Cypress Hills National Cemetery Norwegian emigrants to the United States Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor Double Recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Medal of Honor citations

See also

References

External links