Harry Lipscomb

Harry Lipscomb

Lipscomb after receiving his Medal of Honor in 1911
Born (1878-04-02)April 2, 1878
Washington, D.C.
Died September 7, 1926(1926-09-07) (aged 48)
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Rank Chief Watertender
Unit USS North Dakota (BB-29)
Awards Medal of Honor

Harry Lipscomb (April 2, 1878 – September 7, 1926) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Lipscomb was born on April 2, 1878, in Washington, D.C. He enlisted in the Navy from that city and by September 8, 1910, was serving as a watertender on the USS North Dakota (BB-29).[1] On that day, while the North Dakota was conducting tests using oil as fuel, an explosion occurred, killing three sailors and endangering the ship. In the engine room, pieces of hot coal and coke floated in waist-high hot water, oil was aflame above one of the boilers, and the entire room was filled with smoke, steam, and fumes. Despite these dangers, Lipscomb and five other men of the ship's engineering department entered the engine room to haul the boiler fires and perform other tasks necessary to prevent a boiler explosion. After ensuring the safety of the ship, they then searched for and removed the bodies of the three sailors killed in the initial explosion.[2]

For these actions, Lipscomb and the five other men were awarded the Medal of Honor a month later, on October 4. The others were Chief Machinist's Mate Thomas Stanton, Chief Machinist's Mate Karl Westa, Chief Watertender August Holtz, Chief Watertender Patrick Reid, and Machinist's Mate First Class Charles C. Roberts.[1]

Lipscomb reached the rank of chief watertender before leaving the Navy. He died at age 48 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia.[3]

Medal of Honor citation

Lipscomb's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. North Dakota, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the fire on board that vessel, 8 September 1910.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Medal of Honor recipients - Interim Awards, 1901-1911". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  2. ↑ Williams, Dion (April 1919). "War Decorations". United States Naval Institute Proceedings. 45 (4): 511–512. ISSN 0041-798X. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Harry Lipscomb (1878 - 1926)". Find a Grave. September 5, 2003. Retrieved February 2, 2010.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.