| Thomas Mitchell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1857 New York City |
| Died | July 18, 1942 (aged 84–85) |
| Place of burial | Long Island National Cemetery, Suffolk County, New York |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | United States Navy |
| Rank | Landsman |
| Unit | USS Richmond |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
Thomas Mitchell (1857 – July 18, 1942) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.
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 and second most powerful air force in the world.
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".
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Born in 1857 in New York, New York, Mitchell joined the Navy from that state. By November 17, 1879, he was serving as a landsman on the USS Richmond at Shanghai, China. On that day, he rescued a shipmate, First Class Boy M. F. Caulan, from drowning. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor five years later, on October 18, 1884. [1]
The USS Richmond was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
Shanghai is one of the four municipalities under the direct administration of the central government of the People's Republic of China, the largest city in China by population, and the second most populous city proper in the world, with a population of 24.18 million as of 2017. It is a global financial centre and transport hub, with the world's busiest container port. Located in the Yangtze River Delta, it sits on the south edge of the estuary of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the East China coast. The municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, south and west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Mitchell's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
Serving on board the U.S.S. Richmond, Mitchell rescued from drowning, M. F. Caulan, first class boy, serving with him on the same vessel, at Shanghai, China, 17 November 1879. [1]
Mitchell left the Navy while still a landsman. He died on July 18, 1942, at age 84 or 85 and was buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Suffolk County, New York. [2]
Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. It comprises the northern section of an area known as "Pinelawn," which consists of a grouping of cemeteries and memorial parks situated along Wellwood Avenue - these include Pinelawn Memorial Park, St. Charles / Resurrection, Beth Moses, New Montefiore and Mt. Ararat Cemeteries. Its mailing address is Farmingdale. It borders East Farmingdale along its western edge and is located within the CDPS of Wyandanch, in the Town of Babylon, and Melville in the Town of Huntington. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 364.7 acres (147.6 ha), and as of 2014, had more than 346,000 interments.
Suffolk County is a predominantly suburban county on Long Island and the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the county's population was 1,493,350, estimated to have decreased slightly to 1,492,953 in 2017, making it the fourth-most populous county in New York. Its county seat is Riverhead, though most county offices are in Hauppauge. The county was named after the county of Suffolk in England, from where its earliest European settlers came.
