Congressional Medal of Honor Society
Stories of Sacrifice
World War I - U.S. Navy
Osmond Kelly Ingram
Details
- Rank: Gunner's Mate First Class
- Conflict/Era: World War I
- Unit/Command:
U.S.S. Cassin - Military Service Branch: U.S. Navy
- Medal of Honor Action Date: October 15, 1917
- Medal of Honor Action Place: at sea 20 miles south of Mind Head Lighthouse, Monagoush, County Waterford, Ireland
Citation
For extraordinary heroism in the presence of the enemy on the occasion of the torpedoing of the Cassin, 15 October 1917. While the Cassin was searching for the submarine, Ingram sighted the torpedo coming, and realizing that it might strike the ship aft in the vicinity of the depth charges, ran aft with the intention of releasing the depth charges before the torpedo could reach the Cassin. The torpedo struck the ship before he could accomplish his purpose, and Ingram was killed by the explosion. The depth charges exploded immediately afterward. His life was sacrificed in an attempt to save the ship and his shipmates, as the damage to the ship would have been much less if he had been able to release the depth charges.
Additional Details
- Accredited to: Pratt City, Jefferson County, Alabama
- Awarded Posthumously: Yes
- Born: August 4, 1887, Oneonta, Blount County, AL, United States
- Died: October 15, 1917, at Sea
- Buried: A.B.M.C. Wall of the Missing, Brookwood, Surrey, England
- Location of Medal: Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL