John F. Auer

A sailor dives into Marseille harbour to save a drowning boy

John F. Auer was born in New York in 1866. He served in the U.S. Navy as an ordinary seaman apprentice aboard USS Lancaster.

On November 20, 1883, while Lancaster was at Marseille, France, a French boy fell into the sea from a stone pier behind the ship. Auer jumped overboard and rescued him from drowning.

After five years in the Navy, Auer returned to Nyack and worked as a letter carrier for more than twenty years.

Auer's award was accredited to New York and was not posthumous. He died on March 27, 1951, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Nyack, New York.

Official Medal of Honor citation: On board the U.S.S. Lancaster, Marseille, France, 20 November 1883. Jumping overboard, Auer rescued from drowning a French lad who had fallen into the sea from a stone pier astern of the ship.