Michael Thornton (Medal Of Honor, Awarded 1884)
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Michael Thornton (1856–??) was a
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
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 Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. Born in 1856 in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, Thornton immigrated to the United States and joined the Navy from Pennsylvania. By August 26, 1881, 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 tugboat . On that day, while ''Leyden'' was near
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Landsman Michael Drennan jumped overboard because he was "temporarily insane". Thornton jumped in after him and kept him afloat until they could be rescued. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor three years later, on October 18, 1884. Thornton's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For jumping overboard from the U.S. Tug ''Leyden'', near Boston, Mass., 26 August 1881, and sustaining until picked up, Michael Drennan, landsman, who had jumped overboard while temporarily insane.


See also

*
List of Medal of Honor recipients during peacetime Prior to 1963, the Medal of Honor could be awarded for actions not involving direct combat with "an enemy of the United States" or "opposing foreign force (actions against a party in which the U.S. is not directly engaged in war with).DoD Awa ...


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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Michael 1856 births 19th-century Irish people Irish sailors in the United States Navy Year of death missing 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