Franklin J. Phillips

He held legation defences until enemy fire brought him down.

Franklin J. Phillips served in the United States Army before joining the Marine Corps. With Company M, 1st United States Infantry, he took part in the Spanish-American War in Cuba and contracted malaria. While stationed in Alabama he sought a sick furlough. After the request was refused, he left his unit in December 1898. His subsequent attempt to return did not reverse the Army's decision to discharge him without honor for desertion in March 1899.

In May 1899 he enlisted in the Marines under the name Harry Fisher, concealing his earlier service. A year later he was among the Marines defending the foreign legations at Peking during the Boxer Rebellion. From 20 June until 16 July 1900 he repeatedly faced enemy fire while helping maintain the besieged positions. He was killed while assisting in the construction of a barricade.

The Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously under his assumed name. His mother, Mrs. W. C. Means, asked the Marine Corps to correct his identity and accepted the medal in August 1901. Officials initially declined to change the completed service record after his death. The discrepancy persisted for nearly nine decades. In 1988 Commandant Alfred M. Gray ordered recognition of Phillips's true name, and a military prepositioning ship previously named for Private Harry Fisher was renamed for Franklin J. Phillips. He is recognized as the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor posthumously.