Francis E. Ormsbee Jr.

He dived into the wreckage to rescue a trapped naval airman.

Francis Edward Ormsbee Jr. was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on 30 April 1892. He enlisted in the Navy on 1 January 1917 and became a chief machinist's mate at Naval Air Station Pensacola. He was an experienced mechanic and aircrewman, rather than the pilot of the aircraft involved in his Medal of Honor action.

On 25 September 1918, while flying with Ensign John Jova, he saw another training seaplane crash into Pensacola Bay. Jova landed nearby and Ormsbee immediately entered the water. He repeatedly dived into the submerged wreck, cutting his hands as he worked to free the occupants.

He brought the gunner's head above water and supported him until a rescue boat arrived. Further attempts to reach the pilot could not save the man's life. Ormsbee received the Medal of Honor for this rescue.

He subsequently qualified as Naval Aviation Pilot No. 25. After leaving the Navy at the end of 1928, he joined Pan American in February 1929 and later became an air-navigation inspector for the Department of Commerce. He died in an aircraft accident in Oklahoma on 24 October 1936 and was buried at St. Francis Cemetery in Pawtucket.

Official Medal of Honor citation, Navy General Order 436, 9 December 1918:

Chief machinist’s mate, United States Navy, who, while attached to the naval air station, Pensacola, Fla., on September 25, 1918, while flying with Ensign J. A. Jova, saw a plane go into a tail spin and crash about three-quarters of a mile to the right. Having landed near by, Ormsbee lost no time in going overboard, and made for the wreck, which was all under water except the two wing tips. He succeeded in partially extricating the gunner, so that his head was out of water, and held him in this position until the speed boat arrived. Ormsbee then made a number of desperate attempts to rescue the pilot, diving into the midst of the tangled wreckage, although cut about the hands, but was too late to save his life.