Julius A. R. Wilke

He cut a vital enemy cable under fierce fire off Cienfuegos.

Julius August Robert Wilke was born in Germany on 14 November 1860. He emigrated to the United States and entered the United States Navy. By the Spanish-American War he was a boatswain's mate first class aboard USS Marblehead, a cruiser operating in Cuban waters.

On 11 May 1898 Marblehead and USS Nashville sent boats towards the cable connections off Cienfuegos. Cutting the underwater cables would interrupt communications between Spanish forces in Cuba and the outside world. The men in the small boats had to find, raise and sever the cables close to the shore rather than carry out the work under the protection of their own ships' hulls.

Spanish troops opened heavy fire on the operation. Wilke continued his work despite that exposure. His Medal of Honor citation recognized his exceptional bravery and composure throughout the cable-cutting action. The operation was completed with the aid of gunfire from the supporting vessels, but men in the boats were killed and wounded.

His award was announced in December 1898. The medal commemorated a specific naval operation whose importance lay in communications rather than the capture of a fortified position. His service in the wartime Navy also qualified for campaign recognition distinct from the gallantry award.

Wilke later lived in Virginia and was buried in Portsmouth in what is now Captain Ted Conaway Memorial Naval Cemetery. His grave preserves the connection between the German-born sailor and the boat expedition at Cienfuegos.

Official Medal of Honor citation:

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