John Davis (Medal of Honor, 1881)

Jumping overboard, he brought a drowning coxswain to safety.

John Davis was born at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1854. He moved to the United States and entered the United States Navy. By February 1881 he was serving as an ordinary seaman aboard the screw frigate Trenton during its service in European waters.

While the ship was at Toulon, France, Coxswain Augustus Ohlensen fell overboard. Unable to swim, Ohlensen was in immediate danger of drowning. Davis went into the water to assist him. Seaman Alexander Haure Turvelin also took part in the rescue.

Davis's Medal of Honor citation records his decision to jump overboard and save Ohlensen. It was a lifesaving award made during naval service, rather than recognition for fighting an enemy. Both rescuers received the Medal of Honor for their actions.

The award was issued on 18 October 1884, more than three years after the rescue. Davis's recorded rank remained ordinary seaman. His later life brought him to Virginia, where he died at Hampton on 19 August 1903.

He was buried at Hampton National Cemetery. His Medal of Honor has been preserved separately from his grave and is identified by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society as held at Founding Forward in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the U.S.S. Trenton, Toulon, France, February 1881. Jumping overboard, Davis rescued Augustus Ohlensen, coxswain, from drowning.