William Zuiderveld (January 8, 1888 – February 5, 1978) 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 ...

Hospital Apprentice First Class. He received 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 actions during the

United States occupation of Veracruz The United States occupation of Veracruz (April 21 to November 23, 1914) began with the Battle of Veracruz and lasted for seven months. The incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States, and was re ...

Service during United States occupation of Veracruz

In 1914, Zuiderveld took part in the

, serving as a hospital corpsman with a company of armed sailors (known as "Bluejackets") who were tasked with capturing the city's

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

.The Landing at Veracruz, 1914, by Jack Sweetman, U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1968, page 72-3. The company, led by Ensign

George M. Lowry George Maus Lowry (October 27, 1889 – September 25, 1981) served as a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He received the Medal of Honor for actions during the United States occupation of Veracruz, 1914. When he died in 1981 he was the ...

, became pinned down by "murderous rifle and machine-gun fire" as they approached the Custom's house. Not wanting to risk his entire company, Lowry asked for volunteers to approach the Custom's House from the side. Five men volunteered: Joseph G. Harner, Coxswain J. F. Schumaker, Boatswain's Mate Second Class George Cregan, and Seamen Harry C. Beasley and Lawrence C. Sinnett. Lowry lead the volunteers into a narrow alley, where they came under crossfire from riflemen in the Custom's Building and machine gunners in a nearby hotel. During this fighting, "A bullet clipped one of the buttons off Lowry's cap and another tore through his right legging, creasing the flesh. Beasley was slightly wounded, and Schumaker was shot through the head." After his men were able to silence the machine gunners with return rifle fire, Lowry called for a corpsman to help Schumaker. Zuiderveld ran down the alley while under fire and tried to stop the flow of blood from Schumaker's head. Once Zuiderveld carried Schumaker—who would soon die—to the rear, Lowry and his surviving men worked their way up the alley and scaled the wall around the Custom's House. Several days later, Lowry returned to the scene and counted twelve bullet impacts on the wall where his men had climbed it.The Landing at Veracruz, 1914, by Jack Sweetman, U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1968, page 73. After Lowry and his men smashed through a window of the Customs House, the personnel inside surrendered. Zuiderveld, along with almost all of the men who volunteered for the attack, received the

for their actions. He rose to the rank of lieutenant before retiring from the Navy. He was buried

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a federal military cemetery in the city of San Diego, California. It is located on the grounds of the former Army coastal artillery station Fort Rosecrans and is administered by the United States Department o ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. His grave can be found in section A-I, Grave 9b, at .

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Hospital Apprentice First Class, U.S. Navy. Place and date: Vera Cruz, Mexico, April 21, 1914. Entered service at:

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Birth: Michigan. G.O. No.: 116, August 9, 1914. Citation:

On board the USS Florida, Zuiderveld showed extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the seizure of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 21 April 1914.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuiderveld, William 1888 births 1978 deaths United States Navy officers United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Battle of Veracruz (1914) recipients of the Medal of Honor

Service during United States occupation of Veracruz

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References