Robert Edward Cox

Controlling a fire that threatened USS Missouri

Robert Edward Cox earned the Medal of Honor for heroism aboard USS Missouri on April 13, 1904. A chief gunner in the United States Navy, he acted after an accident during target practice off Pensacola, Florida, killed five officers and 28 sailors.

With the ship threatened by an explosion, Cox and two gunner’s mates helped bring the fire under control. Their prompt actions prevented the loss of the warship and its remaining crew.

Born in St. Albans, West Virginia, on December 22, 1876, Cox received the medal from President Warren G. Harding on April 14, 1921. He died in Philadelphia on April 24, 1937, and is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Medal of Honor citation

For extraordinary heroism on U.S.S. Missouri 13 April 1904. While at target practice off Pensacola, Fla., an accident occurred in the after turret of the Missouri whereby the lives of five officers and 28 men were lost. The ship was in imminent danger of destruction by explosion, and the prompt action of C.G. Cox and two gunners' mates caused the fire to be brought under control, and the loss of the Missouri, together with her crew, was averted.