World War I
James Jonas Madison
Lieutenant Commander · U.S. Navy
U.S. Naval Reserve Force
4 October 1918 · USS Ticonderoga
Public domain. U.S. Naval Historical Center - http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-m/jj-madsn.htm Source file
- Branch
- U.S. Navy
- Era
- World War I
- Action
- USS Ticonderoga
The citation
Official citation
For exceptionally heroic service in a position of great responsibility as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Ticonderoga, when, on 4 October 1918, that vessel was attacked by an enemy submarine and was sunk after a prolonged and gallant resistance. The submarine opened fire at a range of 500 yards, the first shots taking effect on the bridge and forecastle, 1 of the 2 forward guns of the Ticonderoga being disabled by the second shot. The fire was returned and the fight continued for nearly 2 hours. Lt. Comdr. Madison was severely wounded early in the fight, but caused himself to be placed in a chair on the bridge and continued to direct the fire and to maneuver the ship. When the order was finally given to abandon the sinking ship, he became unconscious from loss of blood, but was lowered into a lifeboat and was saved, with 31 others, out of a total number of 236 on board.
Sources
- U.S. Army Medal of Honor citation index
- Wikipedia. Linked only. The article text is not copied here.