Thomas Cahey (April 13, 1870 – January 5, 1935) 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 who received 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 valo ...

. Born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

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 ...

, on April 13, 1870, Cahey immigrated to the United States and joined the U.S. Navy from New York. By March 31, 1901, 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, he helped rescue several crewmates during a fire on the ship. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor a year later, on March 22, 1902. Cahey's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. ''Petrel'' for heroism and gallantry, fearlessly exposing his own life to danger in saving others on the occasion of the fire on board that vessel, 31 March 1901.

Cahey reached the rank of chief

gunner's mate The United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating of gunner's mate (GM) is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" schoo ...

before leaving the Navy. He died at age 64 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 in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

.Arlington National Cemetery
/ref>

References

1870 births 1935 deaths Military personnel from Belfast Irish emigrants to the United States United States Navy chiefs United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Irish-born Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 19th-century Irish military personnel Irish sailors in the United States Navy Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub

See also

References