Patrick Reid (June 17, 1875 – October 23, 1924) 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

Reid was born on June 17, 1875, in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He joined the U.S. 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 * '' ...

in 1895 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 ...

watertender on the . On that day, while the ''North Dakota'' was conducting tests using

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

as fuel, an explosion occurred, killing three sailors and endangering the ship. In the

engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into vari ...

, 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, Reid 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 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 ...

. 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, Reid 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 Machinist's Mate Karl Westa, Chief Watertender August Holtz, Machinist's Mate First Class Charles C. Roberts, and Watertender Harry Lipscomb.

Medal of Honor citation

Reid's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the fire on board the U.S.S. ''North Dakota'' where Reid was serving, 8 September 1910.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Patrick 1875 births 1924 deaths Irish sailors in the United States Navy Irish emigrants to the United States United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor Military personnel from County Dublin

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links