William Sidney Shacklette

William Sidney Shacklette was born in Delaplane, Virginia, on May 17, 1880, although some later secondary sources give May 18. He entered the United States Navy on October 24, 1902, enlisting as a Hospital Apprentice First Class, and by the time of his discharge in 1906 he held the enlisted medical rate of Hospital Steward.

On July 21, 1905, Shacklette was serving aboard the gunboat USS Bennington at San Diego, California, when one of the ship’s boilers exploded. The blast devastated the vessel and caused terrible casualties among the crew. Shacklette himself was severely injured, suffering grave burns and being knocked unconscious while working among the wounded. Despite his own injuries, he returned to the berth deck, assisted injured sailors, helped move casualties to boats and then to the wharf, and later refused medical treatment at the hospital until other men had first been cared for. His conduct was singled out by officers and medical personnel as an exceptional example of courage, discipline, and devotion to duty.

For his actions aboard USS Bennington, Shacklette received the Medal of Honor under General Order No. 13, dated January 5, 1906. His official citation reads: “For extraordinary heroism while serving on the U.S.S. Bennington at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Cal., 21 July 1905.”

The injuries Shacklette received in the Bennington disaster effectively ended his Navy career. He was honorably discharged on October 23, 1906, as a Hospital Steward. A 1908 congressional report later confirmed that the Navy considered his professional qualifications strong and stated that, had his physical condition allowed him to continue in service, he would likely have advanced to the grade of Pharmacist. The same report also made clear that his actual Navy rating at discharge was Hospital Steward, and that any later retired-pay treatment connected to the Pharmacist grade would not have made him a Navy officer or changed the historical rank under which he earned the Medal of Honor.

After leaving the Navy, Shacklette turned toward religious life. Later biographical accounts state that he completed seminary studies and entered the ministry. These accounts also report that he returned to active duty during the First World War as a United States Army chaplain. That later Army chaplain service is strongly supported in biographical and commemorative sources, but an original Army chaplain service record confirming his exact grade, dates of service, unit assignment, and overseas status has not yet been located. For that reason, any World War I medal entitlement, including a possible World War I Victory Medal, should be treated as probable but not yet fully verified.

Following the war, Shacklette continued his ministry. He later served as rector of a church in Washington, D.C., and was reportedly nominated for the position of Chaplain of the United States Senate, although he did not receive the appointment. His life after the Bennington disaster therefore followed a remarkable arc: from Navy medical hero and burn survivor to clergyman and possible wartime Army chaplain.

William Sidney Shacklette died on February 12, 1945, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 10, Grave 10688. His Medal of Honor rank should remain listed as Hospital Steward, United States Navy. His later clerical career and reported World War I Army chaplain service may be noted separately, but should not replace the rank under which he performed his Medal of Honor action.