Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Seaman Herbert L. Foss, MOH Recipient

Not far from where I live there is a grave marking the final resting place of Seaman Herbert Lewis Foss, Medal of Honor recipient.The Town of Hingham's Veteran's Services has a bio of Seaman Foss here. You can read his MOH citation here.An exerpt from an October, 2007 ceremony honoring Seaman Foss, Hingham - Veterans Agent Michael Cunningham read the following (in part) -

He enlisted in the United States Navy on Jan. 31, 1897, 16 months before the United States would officially enter the Spanish American War. He was assigned as a seaman on the light cruiser USS Marblehead, and on May 11, 1898, Seaman Foss and his shipmates, while engaging the enemy off the northwest coast of Cuba, snared the main communications cable; pulled it over the bow of their boat, and with great difficulty, and while under intense enemy fire, somehow managed to sever the cable. Seaman Foss actually finished the job with a simple hacksaw. Many of his shipmates were killed or wounded during this action, but they had successfully disrupted communications between Cuba and Spain.USS Marblehead (C-11)"Stripped for battle" in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, circa June-July 1898

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