View Full Version : MOH Recipient "Ordinary" Seaman John Catherwood
Took a short but fun road trip down Route 66 to Springfield for a long weekend, one of the places we stopped was Camp Butler National Cemetery. Found this Marker and paid my respects.
Seaman John Hugh Catherwood
Born: August 07, 1888 at Springfield, IL
Entered Service in the US Navy from Illinois
Earned The Medal of Honor During the Philippines Insurrection For heroism September 24, 1911 at Mundang, Basilan Island, Philippine Islands
Died: December 18, 1930 at the age of 42
The USS Pampanga was one of four gunboats of the U.S. Navy "Mosquito Fleet" assigned to patrol Philippine waters and contain the native Moros from insurrection. Ordinary Seaman John Catherwood was one of six men awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism as part of a shore party dispatched to capture Mundang, on the island of Basilan, on September 24, 1911. Advancing with the scout party to reconnoiter a group of nipa huts close to the trail, he unhesitatingly entered the open area before the huts, when his party was suddenly taken under point-blank fire and charged by approximately 20 enemy Moros coming out from inside the native huts and from other concealed positions. Struck down almost instantly by the outlaws' deadly fire, Ordinary Seaman Catherwood, although unable to rise, rallied to the defense of his leader and fought desperately to beat off the hostile attack. By his valiant effort under fire and in the face of great odds, Catherwood contributed materially toward the destruction and rout of the enemy.
Camp Butler is a place with a lot of history. In the spring I was called to work a funeral there. They needed an officer for the funeral of a retiree so I volunteered.
"Ordinary", not hardly. Thanks for sharing.
Point of history here (Richard can correct me if I'm wrong [not an age jab, I'm slightly older than Richard]) IIRC, the Medal of Honor was the only Valor award until about 1918 or so and did not have the same demands of valor that it has now.
No disrespect meant to Seaman Catherwood, though. Salute!
Pat
Camp Butler is a place with a lot of history. In the spring I was called to work a funeral there. They needed an officer for the funeral of a retiree so I volunteered.
I was surprised they didn't have (unless I missed it) markers where the POW's were buried. I did see several Unknown grave makers.
Point of history here (Richard can correct me if I'm wrong [not an age jab, I'm slightly older than Richard]) IIRC, the Medal of Honor was the only Valor award until about 1918 or so and did not have the same demands of valor that it has now.
No disrespect meant to Seaman Catherwood, though. Salute!
Pat
The Distinguished Service Cross was established by President Woodrow Wilson on January 2, 1918. General Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Forces in France, had recommended that recognition other than the Medal of Honor be authorized for the Armed Forces of the United States for valorous service rendered in like manner to that awarded by the European Armies. The request for establishment of the medal was forwarded from the Secretary of War to the President in a letter dated December 28, 1917. The Act of Congress establishing this award (193-65th Congress), dated July 9, 1918, is contained in 10 U.S.C. § 3742. The establishment of the Distinguished Service Cross was promulgated in War Department General Order No. 6, dated January 12, 1918.
The Silver Star is the successor award to the "Citation Star" (3⁄16 silver star) which was established by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918. On July 19, 1932, the Secretary of War approved the conversion of the "Citation Star" to the Silver Star Medal. The original "Citation Star" is incorporated into the center of the medal. Authorization for the Silver Star Medal was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the U.S. Navy on August 7, 1942 and an Act of Congress for the U.S. Army on December 15, 1942. The current statutory authorization for the medal is Title 10 of the United States Code, 10 U.S.C. § 3746 for the U.S. Army, 10 U.S.C. § 8746 for the U.S. Air Force, and 10 U.S.C. § 6244 for the U.S. Navy.
President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal by Executive Order 9419 dated 4 February 1944, retroactive to 7 December 1941. This authorization was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 3, dated 10 February 1944.
And as Pat mentioned inre to the standards for awarding:
16 OCT 1916 - The BOARD OF GENERALS authorized in the previous legislation convened under Lt. General Nelson Miles, a Medal recipient from the Civil War. General Miles had taken an active role in promoting legislation to protect the Medal as commander of the Medal of Honor Legion and approached the work of his committee with determination and dedication. Every award of the Army Medal of Honor since the Civil War was reviewed. The recipients were anonymous to the board, represented only by a number.
5 FEB 1917 - The Medal of Honor review board released its findings, striking the names of 911 medal recipients from the honor roll. The stricken names included all the medals awarded to the 27th Maine, 29 members of President Lincoln's funeral guard, and six civilians (whose courage the board did not deny, but who were ruled ineligible for the Medal due their civilian status). Five of the civilians were scouts from the Indian Campaigns including Buffalo Bill Cody. The sixth was Civil War Assistant Surgeon Mary Walker. Though she had participated in major campaigns from Bull Run to Chickamauga, even endured three months as a Confederate prisoner of war, her civilian status denied her continued recognition as a Medal of Honor recipient.
http://www.cmohs.org/medal-history.php
Richard