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Service Profile
- Branch
- U.S. Navy
- Rank
- Seaman
- Medals Recorded
- 1
Awards & Decorations
Ribbon Rack
Biography
He saved a shipmate from drowning at Norfolk
Joseph Benjamin Noil was born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, in 1841. He enlisted in the United States Navy in New York on 7 October 1864, served until March 1867 and re-enlisted in December 1871.
On 26 December 1872, while serving as a seaman aboard USS Powhatan at Norfolk, Virginia, Noil rescued Boatswain J. C. Walton from drowning. His commanding officer reported the rescue the following day. Noil received the Medal of Honor for his conduct.
Noil died on 21 March 1882 and was buried at St. Elizabeths Hospital Cemetery in Washington, D.C. For more than a century his grave marker misspelled his surname as Noel and omitted his decoration. In April 2016, United States Navy officials and representatives of Canada attended the dedication of a replacement marker.
Medal of Honor citation
Serving on board the U.S.S. Powhatan at Norfolk, 26 December 1872, Noil saved Boatswain J. C. Walton from drowning.
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