Walter Scott West

He helped cut an enemy cable while under heavy Spanish fire.

Walter Scott West was born in Bradford, New Hampshire, on 13 March 1872. He enlisted in Boston on 11 May 1897 and served as a private in the Marine detachment aboard USS Marblehead. His ship operated in the Caribbean and, after war with Spain began in 1898, took part in the campaign against Spanish positions in Cuba. Shipboard Marines could be called upon for exposed boat work as well as their ordinary duties aboard the cruiser.

On 11 May 1898, West joined the operation to cut the submarine telegraph cable leading from Cienfuegos. The cable was important to Spanish communications. Reaching and severing it required men to leave the protection of the ships and work from small boats close to a defended shore. The men had to locate and lift the cable while Spanish forces fired at them. It was an operation in which steady work under fire mattered as much as the ability to return it.

West continued his part in the task throughout the engagement. The official Medal of Honor citation states that he displayed "extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout this action" while facing the enemy's heavy fire. His award, authorized on 7 July 1899, recognized his conduct in a collective naval operation alongside the other men in the boats.

He survived the war. The official Marine Corps record shows that his service ended with a bad-conduct discharge on 14 January 1899, but that his discharge was later changed to honourable under an act approved on 30 June 1932.

West subsequently returned to civilian life in New England. Local historical accounts preserve recollections of his Cuban service. He died on 14 September 1943 and was buried in Rock Hill Cemetery at Foxboro, Massachusetts. His decoration preserved the memory of his courage during the exposed cable-cutting operation.

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, West displayed extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout this action.