Honoring Those Who Gave More Than What Was Asked of Them
The Medal of Honor is the highest military award attainable by members of all branches of the armed forces. The honor is bestowed by the president on behalf of the United States Government for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.” The Medal of Honor is typically awarded by formal ceremony at the White House; posthumous awards are presented to next-of-kin if there are surviving relatives or descendants.
The Award is a recognition of valor and gallantry for actions above and beyond that which is expected of Americas military men and women, it is not considered an award that is “won,” but rather an honor that is “bestowed.”
The Medal of Honor has been awarded more than 3,500 times to members of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps since its inception in 1861. The original Medal of Honor was established for the Navy through a law passed by Congress and signed by President Abraham Lincoln in December 1861. Subsequently, in 1862 congress established the Medal of Honor for the Army, and legislation passed in March 1863 made it a permanent award. The design for the Army and Navy’s variations have been redesigned several times since the Civil War, with the current versions created during World War II.
For more on the history and awarding of the Medal of Honor, click HERE.
In the Fall of 2022, the Northern Chesapeake Heritage Foundation was presented with an opportunity to expand its mission to include honoring Maryland’s Medal of Honor recipients whose remains have been lost to history or buried unmarked in locations far from home.
The foundation worked with the Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States to place a memorial marker for Medal of Honor recipient, Coxswain Edward Ringgold of the United States Navy, in the lot of his Ringgold cousins in Green Mount Cemetery. Shawn Ward subsequently leveraged a decades long relationship with a former Navy comrade to solicit a donation from the Maryland Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, of which he is a member, to help facilitate the purchase of space in the prestigious Chapel Area of the cemetery for the establishment of a “Medal of Honor Plot.” The Department reached out to its vast network of posts throughout the state asking each to contribute what they could to the project.
With the fundraising campaign underway, Lyle Garitty continued with his research to determine the first of Maryland’s Medal of Honor recipients to be honored. By May of 2023, the work had been completed and two veterans had been selected. The veterans selected were Sgt. John Knox, a native of Iowa, who unfortunately committed suicide in Baltimore in 1895. Sgt. Knox was a veteran of the Indian Wars of the 1870s and a patient in the Washington DC and Baltimore Veterans Homes at the time of his death. By all accounts, it can be assumed that he may have suffered to some degree what is now known as PTSD.
Sgt Knox was one of thirteen soldiers honored for gallantry during the Battle of Lyman’s Wagon Train, sometimes known as the Battle of the Upper Washita, during the Red River War in Sept 1874. The battle was a five-day siege of Capt. Wyllys Lyman’s wagon train of 95 soldiers by over 400 Commanche and Kiowa Indians. Fighting from a wagon corral, Capt. Lyman and his men held off the attacking Indians until the arrival of Company K, 6th U.S. Cavalry, who traveled 80 miles without rest in a raging rainstorm to aid the wagon train. On its arrival, the Indians fled.
Lt. Milton Ernest Ricketts of Baltimore City was a young Navy officer stationed onboard the USS Yorktown when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft during the Battle of the Coral Sea on 8 May 1942. Lt. Ricketts was the Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Repair Party when a bomb dropped by a Japanese airplane exploded directly beneath the compartment in which Lieutenant Ricketts’ battle station was located, killing, wounding or stunning all of his men and mortally wounding him. Despite his mortal wounds, Lt. Ricketts opened the valve of a nearby fireplug, partially led out the fire hose and directed a heavy stream of water into the fire before collapsing and dying of his wounds.
Lt. Ricketts was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (presented to his family by President Franklin D. Roosevelt) for his actions that fateful day. His full citation was as follows:
“The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Milton Ernest Ricketts (NSN: 0-75002), United States Navy, for extraordinary and distinguished gallantry above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Repair Party of the U.S.S. YORKTOWN in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea on 8 May 1942. During the severe bombarding of the YORKTOWN by enemy Japanese forces, an aerial bomb passed through and exploded directly beneath the compartment in which Lieutenant Ricketts’ battle station was located, killing, wounding or stunning all of his men and mortally wounding him. Despite his ebbing strength, Lieutenant Ricketts promptly opened the valve of a near-by fireplug, partially led out the fire hose and directed a heavy stream of water into the fire before dropping dead beside the hose. His courageous action, which undoubtedly prevented the rapid spread of fire to serious proportions, and his unflinching devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.”
On the 2nd of May 2023 the Northern Chesapeake Heritage Foundation and the Maryland Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars dedicated the “Medal of Honor Memorial Plot” Medal of Honor recipients native to, or associated with Maryland, and whose remains lie in locations known only to God. It is hoped that this project will be the first of subsequent efforts to honor Maryland’s honored servicemen and servicewomen who have been recognized as part of an elite group of warriors.
The Northern Chesapeake Foundation relies upon the support of the public and institutions like the VFW to help with their mission. Please consider making a generous contribution to the Medal of Honor project or other foundation endeavors by clicking the link below. We thank you in advance for your support.
