Thomas Stanton (August 11, 1869 – May 7, 1950) 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

Stanton was born on August 11, 1869, in

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 ...

and, after immigrating to the United States, he joined the 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 * '' ...

around 1898. On September 8, 1910, Stanton 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 ...

machinist's mate 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, Stanton 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, Stanton and the five other men were awarded the Medal of Honor a month later, on October 4, 1910. The others were Chief Machinist's Mate Karl Westa, Chief Watertender August Holtz, Chief Watertender Patrick Reid, Machinist's Mate First Class Charles C. Roberts, and Watertender Harry Lipscomb. Stanton died May 7, 1950, at age 80 and was buried at Saint Columba Catholic Cemetery in

Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown". History Vari ...

Medal of Honor citation

Stanton'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'', 8 September 1910.

References

External links

*
Home of Heroes
* ttp://www.sartori.com/nhc/frames/faqs/faq46-5.html Chief Petty Officers earning the Medal of Honor {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Thomas 1869 births 1950 deaths 19th-century Irish people 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

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links