George Huber Wheeler

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George Huber Wheeler
George Huber Wheeler NH 84020.tif
Born(1881-09-26)September 26, 1881
Charleston, South Carolina
Died January 20, 1957(1957-01-20) (aged 75)
Bethesda, Maryland
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1905–1937
Rank Lieutenant
Unit USS Vermont (BB-20)
USS Quail (AM-15)
USS Altair (AD-11)
USS Concord (CL-10)
USS Oklahoma (BB-37)
USS Vestal (AR-4)
Awards Medal of Honor

George Huber Wheeler (September 26, 1881 – January 20, 1957) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the medal for his fire-fighting efforts during a blaze in Coquimbo, Chile. Wheeler went on to have a 32-year Navy career, being temporarily promoted to lieutenant during World War I and achieving the permanent rank of chief warrant officer before his retirement.

United States Navy Naval warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force.

Medal of Honor United States of Americas highest military honor

The Medal of Honor is the United States of America's highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented "in the name of Congress", it is often referred to informally as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". However, the official name of the current award is "Medal of Honor." Within the United States Code the medal is referred to as the "Medal of Honor", and less frequently as "Congressional Medal of Honor". U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are "MOH" and "MH".

Coquimbo City and Commune in Chile

Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley 10 km (6 mi) south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The commune spans an area around the harbor of 1,429.3 km2 (552 sq mi). The average temperature in the city lies around 14 °C (57 °F), and precipitation is low.

Contents

Biography

Wheeler was born on September 26, 1881, in Charleston, South Carolina, and enlisted in the Navy from that state in August 1905. [1] [2] By January 20, 1909, he was serving as a shipfitter first class on a ship in the 2nd Division of the United States Pacific Fleet. [1] [3] On that evening, while the division was anchored off Coquimbo, Chile, a fire broke out at a hotel in the city. Wheeler was among a group of U.S. sailors, led by Captain Bradley A. Fiske, who went ashore and attempted to extinguish the blaze. The group was unable to save the hotel, but successfully kept the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. [3] For their actions during the incident, Wheeler and another man, Boatswain's Mate William Henry Gowan, were awarded the Medal of Honor two months later, on March 19. [1]

Charleston, South Carolina City in the United States

Charleston is the oldest and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline and is located on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley, Cooper, and Wando rivers. Charleston had an estimated population of 134,875 in 2017. The estimated population of the Charleston metropolitan area, comprising Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties, was 761,155 residents in 2016, the third-largest in the state and the 78th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States.

Shipfitter

A shipfitter is a marine occupational classification used both by naval activities and among ship builders; however, the term applies mostly to certain workers at commercial and naval shipyards during the construction or repair phase of a ship.

United States Pacific Fleet Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy

The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to the United States Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Pearl Harbor Naval Station, Hawaii, with large secondary facilities at North Island, San Diego Bay on the Mainland.

Wheeler's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For bravery and extraordinary heroism displayed by him during a conflagration in Coquimbo, Chile, 20 January 1909. [1]

In October 1914, Wheeler was appointed from Washington D.C. to the warrant officer rank of carpenter, serving on the battleship USS Vermont (BB-20) during the next three years. He was temporarily promoted to the commissioned officer rank of ensign in October 1917, some months after the United States entered World War I. In May 1918, he was assigned to the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., and received a temporary promotion that July to lieutenant (junior grade). A year later, he was advanced to lieutenant. In October 1920, nearly two years after the end of the war, Wheeler reverted to the warrant rank of chief carpenter and was later ordered to the Coco Solo Naval Submarine Base in the Panama Canal Zone. [2]

Warrant officer Military rank

A warrant officer (WO) is an officer in a military organisation who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, and a non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer, often by virtue of seniority.

Carpenter's mate (CM) was a United States Navy rating throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

USS <i>Vermont</i> (BB-20) Connecticut-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the United States Navy

USS Vermont (BB-20), a Connecticut-class battleship, was the second ship of the United States Navy named after the 14th state. She was the third member of the class, which included five other ships. The Connecticut-class ships were armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (300 mm) guns and had a top speed of 19 knots. Vermont was laid down in May 1904 at the Fore River shipyard and launched in August 1905. The ship entered service with the Atlantic Fleet in March 1907.

Wheeler returned to sea duty in October 1922 on board the minesweeper USS Quail (AM-15) and transferred two years later to the destroyer tender USS Altair (AD-11). In August 1926, he was assigned to Naval Training Center San Diego, California, later serving in the San Diego offices of the Eleventh Naval District. Early December 1928, Wheeler began duty on board the light cruiser USS Concord (CL-10), which was followed by a shore assignment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Pennsylvania. He served from 1934 to 1937 on the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and the repair ship USS Vestal (AR-4). Transferred in June 1937 to the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia, in November he was placed on the retired list with his earlier rank of lieutenant. Wheeler died in Bethesda, Maryland, on January 20, 1957, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia. [2]

USS <i>Quail</i> (AM-15)

USS Quail (AM-15) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.

USS <i>Altair</i> (AD-11)

The USS Altair (AD-11) was the lead ship of a class of three destroyer tenders. She was named for Altair, the brightest star in the constellation Aquila.

Naval Training Center San Diego defunct training base of the United States Navy in San Diego, California, USA

Naval Training Center San Diego (1923–1997) is a former United States Navy base located at the north end of San Diego Bay. The Naval Training Center site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and many of the individual structures are designated as historic by the city of San Diego.

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References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from websites or documents ofthe Naval History & Heritage Command .

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Medal of Honor recipients - Interim Awards, 1901-1911". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lieutenant George H. Wheeler, USN, (1881-1957)". Online Library of Selected Images. Naval History & Heritage Command. January 29, 2008. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Fiske, Bradley Allen (September 1919). From Midshipman to Rear-Admiral. New York: The Century Company. pp. 432–434. ISBN   978-1-4446-8464-3 . Retrieved May 19, 2010.

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