Thomas Kersey

He rescued a shipmate from drowning at New York's Navy Yard.

Thomas Joseph Kersey was born in St John's, Newfoundland, in the mid-1840s. He emigrated to the United States and was living at Everett, Massachusetts, when he enlisted in the United States Navy on 19 October 1870. His enlistment was for three years, and his later naval service included the screw sloop USS Plymouth.

Plymouth was a fourteen-gun steam warship with a crew whose work involved the daily dangers of handling boats, rigging and heavy equipment around the water. Kersey served as an ordinary seaman. His Medal of Honor came from an emergency in harbour rather than a battle or an overseas campaign.

On 26 July 1876 the ship was at the New York Navy Yard when a member of her company fell overboard. Kersey entered the water and helped save the man from drowning. The official citation identifies the ship, location and date and credits his gallant rescue of a shipmate (Congressional Medal of Honor Society, https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/thomas-j-kersey). Two other sailors associated with the rescue, William Corey and Charles Gidding, also received the Medal of Honor. Their recognition places Kersey's act within a shared emergency response, while his own citation acknowledges the personal danger he accepted.

The award was approved soon afterwards, in August 1876. Kersey subsequently served aboard Wabash and New Hampshire. His family life included marriage to Mary C. Egan. He died on 16 April 1888 at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts and was buried in St Mary's Cemetery, Newport, Rhode Island. His surviving award record preserves an example of the nineteenth-century Navy's recognition of lifesaving courage during ordinary service.

Medal of Honor citation

Serving on board the U.S.S. Plymouth at the Navy Yard, New York, 26 July 1876, Kersey displayed bravery and presence of mind in rescuing from drowning one of the crew of that vessel.

Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Naval History and Heritage Command official transcription.