HENRY LAKIN SIMPSON
HENRY LAKIN SIMPSON
Class of 1882
First Class Fireman
USS Essex
U.S. Navy
October 31, 1877
Monrovia, Liberia
For rescuing from drowning John W. Powers, ordinary seaman on board the U.S.S. Essex, at Monrovia, Liberia, 31 October 1877.
HENRY LAKIN SIMPSON
Class of 1882
First Class Fireman
USS Essex
U.S. Navy
October 31, 1877
Monrovia, Liberia
For rescuing from drowning John W. Powers, ordinary seaman on board the U.S.S. Essex, at Monrovia, Liberia, 31 October 1877.
Biography
Henry resigned from the Naval Academy on February 28, 1881; he was a "cadet-engineer".
He was not appointed as a Medal of Honor recipient; the award was made seven years after the event, in 1884 — which was also after his death. You can read more about his life on his wikipedia page.
Medal of Honor Plaque Error
Henry's Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously; this is not noted on the plaque.
May 10, 2024 Update
Henry's name will soon be removed from the Medal of Honor plaque, as it has been discovered by the Medal of Honor Historical Society that there were two men with this name aboard USS Essex, and that the one who later attended the Naval Academy was not the one awarded the Medal of Honor. (Amongst other many other facts, he had discharged from USS Essex in July 1877, before the MoH action date in October 1877.)
Once his name has been removed from the panel this page will be deleted.
