Peacetime and interim
Gave his life
Henry Clay Drexler
Ensign · U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy
20 October 1924 · USS Trenton
Public domain. Wikimedia Commons Source file
- Branch
- U.S. Navy
- Era
- Peacetime and other actions
- Home state
- Pennsylvania
- Action
- USS Trenton
The citation
Official citation
For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of a fire on board the U.S.S. Trenton. At 3:35 on the afternoon of 20 October 1924, while the Trenton was preparing to fire trial installation shots from the two 6-inch guns in the forward twin mount of that vessel, 2 charges of powder ignited. Twenty men were trapped in the twin mount. Four died almost immediately and 10 later from burns and inhalation of flame and gases. The 6 others were severely injured. Ens. Drexler, without thought of his own safety, on seeing that the charge of powder for the left gun was ignited, jumped for the right charge and endeavored to put it in the immersion tank. The left charge burst into flame and ignited the right charge before Ens. Drexler could accomplish his purpose. He met his death while making a supreme effort to save his shipmates.
Sources
- U.S. Army Medal of Honor citation index
- Wikipedia. Linked only. The article text is not copied here.
