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Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Stories of Sacrifice

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World War I - U.S. Navy

Jesse Whitfield Covington

Details
  • Rank: Ship's Cook Third Class (Highest Rank: Chief Steward)
  • Conflict/Era: World War I
  • Unit/Command:
    U.S.S. Stewart
  • Military Service Branch: U.S. Navy
  • Medal of Honor Action Date: April 17, 1918
  • Medal of Honor Action Place: Quiberon Bay, France
Citation

For extraordinary heroism following internal explosion of the Florence H. The sea in the vicinity of wreckage was covered by a mass of boxes of smokeless powder, which were repeatedly exploding. Jesse W. Covington, of the U.S.S. Stewart, plunged overboard to rescue a survivor who was surrounded by powder boxes and too exhausted to help himself, fully realizing that similar powder boxes in the vicinity were continually exploding and that he was thereby risking his life in saving the life of this man.

Medal of Honor Recipient Jesse W. Covington
Medal of Honor Recipient Jesse W. Covington
Additional Details
  • Accredited to: California
  • Awarded Posthumously: No
  • Presentation Date & Details: September 15, 1918

    On board the U.S.S. Stewart at Brest, France, presented by Vice Admiral Nilson

  • Born: September 16, 1889, Haywood County, TN, United States
  • Died: November 21, 1966, Richmond, VA, United States
  • Buried: Oak Grove Cemetery (PM) (G-789), Portsmouth, VA, United States
 

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