William F. Lukes (February 19, 1847 – December 13, 1923) 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 America's highest military 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. ...

—for his actions in the 1871

Korean Expedition The United States expedition to Korea, known in Korea as the ''Shinmiyangyo'' () or simply the Korean Expedition, was the first American military action in Korea and took place predominantly on and around Ganghwa Island in 1871. The reason fo ...

Biography

William F. Lukes enlisted in the U.S. Navy from

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and served as a Landsman on board in Company D as part of the Korean Expedition. On June 11, 1871, during the capture of the Han River forts on

Ganghwa Island Ganghwa Island (Hangul ; Hanja ), also known by its native name Ganghwado, is a South Korean island in the estuary of the Han River. It is in the Yellow Sea, off Korea's west coast. The island is separated from Gimpo (on the South Korean mainla ...

, the leader of the American attack, Lieutenant

Hugh McKee Hugh Wilson McKee (April 23, 1844 – June 11, 1871) was an American naval officer in the 1870s who participated in the United States expedition to Korea in 1871. Early life and military service McKee was born in Lexington, Kentucky to a militar ...

, was mortally wounded. Landsman Lukes and two other sailors, Seth Allen and Thomas Murphy, attempted to rescue Lt. McKee but encountered heavy resistance. In the course of the ensuing hand-to-hand fight, Allen and Murphy were killed. Lukes suffered a severe cut to the head but continued to fight; he survived the engagement. When reinforcements arrived, they found Lukes unconscious, with 18 bayonet wounds, lying over the body of Lieutenant McKee. Lukes remained unconscious aboard the ''Colorado'' for 39 days. For his actions on that occasion, Lukes was specially mentioned by his commanding officer for conspicuous "coolness and bravery during the desperate fight" and awarded the Medal of Honor. Before leaving the Navy, William Lukes obtained the rank of Seaman. Lukes suffered convulsions due to brain injury for the rest of his life. He died at the age of 76 and is buried in

Los Angeles National Cemetery The Los Angeles National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Sawtelle unincorporated community of the West Los Angeles neighborhood in Los Angeles County, California. Geography The entrance to the cemetery is located at 950 Sou ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Landsman, U.S. Navy. Born: 1846, Bohemia. Enlisted at: Tientsin, China. G.O. No.: 180, October 10, 1872. Citation:

Served with Company D during the capture of the Korean forts, 9 and 10 June 1871. Fighting the enemy inside the fort, Lukes received a severe cut over the head.

Notes

References

: * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukes, William F. 19th-century American people 19th-century Czech people United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Foreign-born Medal of Honor recipients American people of Czech descent Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States People from Liberec District 1847 births 1923 deaths Burials at Los Angeles National Cemetery Korean Expedition (1871) recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

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References