Henry Clay Drexler

Henry Clay Drexler
Henry Clay Drexler, USN
Born	(1901-08-07)August 7, 1901 Braddock, Pennsylvania
Died	October 20, 1924(1924-10-20) (aged 23) Norfolk, Virginia
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1924
Rank	Ensign
Unit	USS Trenton (CL-11)
Awards	Medal of Honor Navy Cross

Henry Clay Drexler (August 7, 1901 – October 20, 1924) was an Ensign in the United States Navy and a recipient of both the Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor.

Biography 1
Medal of Honor citation 2
See also 3
References 4
External links 5

Biography

Born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on August 7, 1901, Drexler grew up in a seaside home in Bethany Beach, Delaware.^[1]^[2] His father, Louis Drexler, was a Delaware state senator. The family home still stands in Bethany Beach, although it has been moved further inland. Attended Culver Military Academy located in Culver, Indiana. Like his older brother Louis, Henry Drexler attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating in June 1924.^[2]

In mid-October of that year, while posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Drexler was subsequently buried with full honors in Arlington National Cemetery. The destroyer Drexler (DD-741) was named in his honor.

Medal of Honor citation

Drexler's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of a fire on board the U.S.S. Trenton. At 3:35 on the afternoon of 20 October 1924, while the Trenton was preparing to fire trial installation shots from the two 6-inch guns in the forward twin mount of that vessel, 2 charges of powder ignited. Twenty men were trapped in the twin mount. Four died almost immediately and 10 later from burns and inhalation of flame and gases. The 6 others were severely injured. Ens. Drexler, without thought of his own safety, on seeing that the charge of powder for the left gun was ignited, jumped for the right charge and endeavored to put it in the immersion tank. The left charge burst into flame and ignited the right charge before Ens. Drexler could accomplish his purpose. He met his death while making a supreme effort to save his shipmates.^[1]

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

^ ^a ^b "Medal of Honor recipients - Interim Awards, 1920-1940". Medal of Honor citations.
^ ^a ^b Morgan, Michael (August 17, 2010). "A tale of heroism".

"Henry Clay Drexler". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients.
"Drexler"history.navy.mil: USS . Retrieved September 29, 2010.
"Arlington Cemetery - Henry Clay Drexler". Retrieved September 29, 2010.

External links

"Henry Clay Drexler". Hall of Valor.

Categories

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Henry Clay Drexler