August Holtz

The Sailor Who Entered a Burning Battleship

Flames, smoke and deadly fumes filled the machinery spaces of USS North Dakota. Three sailors were already dead, and the fire threatened one of the United States Navy’s newest battleships. While others faced the instinct to escape, Chief Watertender August Holtz moved toward the danger. His decision on 8 September 1910 would save his ship and earn him the Medal of Honor.

August Holtz was born on 12 February 1871 in St. Louis, Missouri. He entered the United States Navy in 1891 and built his career within the demanding engineering branch. By 1910, he had risen to Chief Watertender, a senior enlisted position responsible for the boilers, fuel systems and the sailors who kept a steam-powered warship moving. His experience placed him at the heart of USS North Dakota, where discipline and technical skill could mean the difference between a functioning battleship and a catastrophe at sea.

That catastrophe came on 8 September 1910. A serious fire erupted aboard USS North Dakota, creating an immediate threat to the ship and everyone serving in her. Heat, smoke and hazardous fumes made entry into the affected engineering spaces exceptionally dangerous. Holtz and other members of the engineering force nevertheless entered the burning area and worked to control the fire before it could cause even greater destruction. Their actions demanded more than physical courage. They required the professional knowledge to operate in a machinery space where a single mistake could trigger another explosion or destroy the ship.

Holtz’s Medal of Honor citation was brief, but its language captured the importance of what he had done. It recognized his “extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession” during the fire aboard USS North Dakota. The phrase was especially significant. Holtz was not honored simply for entering danger. He was honored for applying his naval training and engineering expertise while his own life was at immediate risk. His courage was inseparable from his duty as a Chief Watertender.

The award was authorized in General Order No. 83 on 4 October 1910. On 13 June 1911, President William Howard Taft personally presented the Medal of Honor to Holtz. The ceremony recognized him as one of the sailors whose actions had prevented the fire from becoming an even greater naval disaster. Holtz’s Medal of Honor remains the only wearable decoration currently verified to publication standard in his reconstructed ribbon rack.

August Holtz’s heroism stands apart from the familiar image of gallantry under enemy fire. There was no battlefield charge, no opposing army and no expectation of public recognition. His enemy was a fire spreading through the confined machinery spaces of a steel warship. The danger was immediate, unpredictable and capable of killing everyone who entered. Holtz went in because his shipmates needed him and because his professional responsibilities demanded action.

Chief Watertender August Holtz died on 5 March 1938 and was buried at Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. His legacy endures as a reminder that naval courage is not limited to combat. It can be found below decks, among boilers, steam lines and burning fuel, where sailors place themselves between disaster and their ship. On USS North Dakota, August Holtz did exactly that.