Name John Russell Rank Seaman | Awards Medal of Honor Role Medal of Honor | |
Service/branch United States Navy Allegiance United States of America | ||
John Russell (born 1852, date of death unknown) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.
Biography
Born in 1852 in New York, New York, Russell joined the Navy from that state. By September 21, 1880, he was serving as a seaman on the USS Trenton. On that day, while Trenton was at Genoa, Italy, he and Seaman Philip Moore jumped overboard and rescued Ordinary Seaman Hans Paulsen from drowning. For this action, both Russell and Moore were awarded the Medal of Honor four years later, on October 18, 1884.
Russell's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For jumping overboard from the U.S.S. Trenton, at Genoa, Italy, 21 September 1880, and rescuing from drowning Hans Paulsen, ordinary seaman.