Robert Earl Bonney (November 23, 1882 – November 22, 1967) 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

Early life and career

Bonney was born in Maryville, Blount County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

on November 23, 1882. In 1901, at the age of 18, he joined the Navy in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

. His early career included service in the Philippines during the Philippine Insurrection.

Medal of Honor action

By February 14, 1910, he 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 A fireman, stoker or watertender is a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into ...

on the . On that day, the ''Hopkins'' experienced a

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 ...

accident. For their actions during the incident, Bonney and another sailor, Watertender

Edward Alvin Clary Edward Alvin Clary (May 6, 1883 – April 30, 1939) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. Biography A native of Foxport, Fleming County, Kentucky, Clary joined the ...

, were awarded the Medal of Honor. Bonney's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

While serving on board the U.S.S. ''Hopkins'', Bonney displayed extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of the accident to one of the boilers of that vessel, 14 February 1910.

Later career

Bonney's later career included service in Nicaragua in 1912, the Mexican intervention in 1914 and World War I. He retired from the Navy in 1930 the

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

rank of chief machinist. Bonney returned to active duty during World War II and was promoted to lieutenant. He served as an inspector of shipyards in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. He retired from the Navy for the second time shortly after the war's end in 1945.

Retirement

Bonney was an active in

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

and the Fleet Reserve Association. In 1957 he was invited to attend the second inauguration of President Dwight Eisenhower. In 1958, at Eisenhower's request, he laid a wreath at the

Tomb of the Unknowns The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a historic monument dedicated to deceased U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. The World War I "Unknown" is a re ...

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 ...

. He also attended the funeral of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

at the invitation of the Kennedy family. He died on November 22, 1967, one day before his 85th birthday, and was buried at

Acacia Memorial Park ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

near

Awards

* Philippine Campaign Medal * Nicaraguan Campaign Medal * Mexican Service Medal * World War I Victory Medal *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* World War II Victory Medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonney, Robert Earl 1882 births 1967 deaths Military personnel from Tennessee United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor