Hudson Van Etten

He severed undersea cables while enemy fire swept the boats.

Hudson Van Etten was born at Port Jervis, New York, on 17 May 1874. He entered the United States Navy and was serving as a seaman aboard the gunboat USS Nashville during the Spanish-American War.

On 11 May 1898, a naval party approached Cienfuegos, Cuba, in small boats to cut the submarine telegraph cables serving the port. The mission formed part of the American attempt to interrupt Spanish communications. Finding and lifting the cables required the men to remain at work near the shore while enemy fire swept their boats. Nashville and USS Marblehead supported the expedition with their guns.

Van Etten continued through this danger. His citation identifies his ship, the date and the cable-cutting task, and recognises his courage throughout the operation. He was one of the enlisted sailors and Marines decorated for the shared work in the boats. The task depended on men continuing to handle equipment under fire until the cables could be severed.

He survived the war and returned to civilian life. In 1914 he married Margaret Louise Van Etten at Port Jervis. They raised four sons. He later lived in the New England area and died at Kittery, Maine, on 27 October 1941, shortly before the United States entered the Second World War.

Van Etten was buried in Prospect Cemetery at Greenland, New Hampshire. His long life after the Cuban expedition contrasted with the short, exposed action recorded in the citation, but the Medal of Honor remained the principal public recognition of his naval service.

Official citation

On board the U.S.S. Nashville during the operation of cutting the cable leading from Cienfuegos, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Facing the heavy fire of the enemy, Van Etten displayed extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout this period.