Wyndham Richard Bates (1829–1889)
[ 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. ...
.
A native of Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, Bates immigrated to the U.S. and joined the Navy from the state of 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
* '' ...
. By May 10, 1866, he was serving as a seaman
Seaman may refer to:
* Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew
* Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies
* Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name)
* ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...
on the . On that day, while the ''De Soto'' was off the coast of Eastport, Maine, he and two shipmates rescued two sailors from the from drowning. For this action, he and his shipmates, Captain of the Afterguard John Brown John Brown most often refers to:
*John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859
John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to:
Academia
* John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
and Seaman Thomas Burke, were awarded the Medal of Honor three months later, on August 1.For heroic conduct in rescuing from drowning James Rose and John Russell, seamen of the U.S.S. ''Winooski'', off Eastport, Maine, 10 May 1866.
See also
*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
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Richard
1829 births
1889 deaths
Welsh emigrants to the United States
United States Navy sailors
United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
Welsh-born Medal of Honor recipients
Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor