J. W. Norris

Last updated
J. W. Norris
Born 1862
England
Allegiance United States Navy
Service/branch United States Navy
Rank Landsman
Unit USS Jamestown
Awards Medal of Honor

J. W. Norris (born 1862, date of death unknown) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

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".

Contents

Biography

Born in 1862 in England, Norris immigrated to the United States and joined the Navy from New York. By December 20, 1883, he was serving as a landsman on the USS Jamestown. On that day, while Jamestown was at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, A. A. George fell overboard. Norris and another sailor, Ordinary Seaman Robert Augustus Sweeney, jumped into the water and rescued him. For this action, both Norris and Sweeney were awarded the Medal of Honor the next year, on October 18, 1884. [1]

USS <i>Jamestown</i> (1844)

The first USS Jamestown was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

Brooklyn Navy Yard shipyard located in Brooklyn, New York

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlears Hook in Manhattan. It is bounded by Navy Street to the west, Flushing Avenue to the south, Kent Avenue to the east, and the East River on the north. The site, which covers 225.15 acres (91.11 ha), is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Robert Augustus Sweeney was a sailor in the United States Navy and is one of only nineteen servicemen, and the only African American, to receive the Medal of Honor twice, both for peace-time actions.

Norris's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Serving on board the U.S.S. Jamestown, New York Navy Yard, 20 December 1883, Norris rescued from drowning A. A. George, who had fallen overboard. [1]

Norris is one of the hundreds of Medal of Honor recipients who are considered "lost to history", as his place of burial and other biographical details are unknown. There are records of a sailor named John W. Norris who was born in March 1862, lived in Fall River, Massachusetts, and worked as a nurse before joining the U.S. Navy. This Norris enlisted at New York City on June 18, 1883, and was discharged in June 1886. It is uncertain if this John W. Norris is the same man as J. W. Norris the Medal of Honor recipient. [2]

Fall River, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River is located approximately 53 miles (85 km) south of Boston, 17 miles (27 km) southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, 20 miles (32 km) south of Taunton, 12 miles (19 km) west of New Bedford, 20 miles (32 km) north of Newport, Rhode Island, and 200 miles (320 km) northeast of New York City. The City of Fall River's population was 87,103 at the 2010 census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Medal of Honor recipients - Interim Awards, 1871–1898". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 5, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Lost to History". Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States. Retrieved March 27, 2016.

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