William Henry Gowan (June 2, 1884 – May 22, 1957) 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 valo ...

. He was awarded the medal for his fire-fighting efforts during a blaze in

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Gowan went on to have a 35-year Navy career, eventually becoming a

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 ...

before his retirement.

Biography

Gowan was born in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

, on June 2, 1884, and joined the Navy from that state in about 1907. By January 20, 1909, he was serving as a boatswain's mate on a ship in the 2nd Division of the

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

. On that evening, while the division was anchored off

, Chile, a fire broke out at a hotel in the city. Gowan was among a group of U.S. sailors, led by Captain Bradley A. Fiske, who went ashore and attempted to extinguish the blaze. The group was unable to save the hotel, but successfully kept the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. For their actions during the incident, Gowan and another man, Shipfitter First Class George Huber Wheeler, were awarded the Medal of Honor two months later, on March 19. Gowan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For bravery and extraordinary heroism displayed by him during a conflagration in Coquimbo, Chile, 20 January 1909.

While serving on the in 1916, Gowan was promoted to chief boatswain's mate. He was promoted to the

rank of

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervise ...

on September 20, 1918. He retired from the Navy in 1942, after 35 years of service. As a civilian, Gowan worked for the Waterbury Rope Sales Corporation in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He died at work of a heart attack on May 22, 1957, at age 72. His body lay unclaimed for a week before his only remaining close relative, a sister named Ella Wickwire, could be located. In the meantime, the Navy made funeral arrangements for Gowan, who left behind no money for a burial. With his sister's permission, the Navy held a funeral service at the Universal Funeral Chapel in Manhattan on May 29 and buried Gowan at

Long Island National Cemetery Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. It is surrounded by a group of other separate cemeteries and memorial parks situated along Wellwood Avenue (County Road 3) – these include Pi ...

later that day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gowan, William Henry 1884 births 1957 deaths People from Rye, New York United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Long Island National Cemetery Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

See also

References

External links