Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan (July 31, 1884 – January 27, 1941) was a

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

—for his actions in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Biography

Sullivan attended

Clemson College Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''outside'' of the Clemson city limits. Founded ...

and graduated as part of the Class of 1902. Sullivan enrolled in the

United States Naval Reserve Force The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sel ...

on April 12, 1917, a few days after the United States entered World War I. He later received a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

to the rank of

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

. On May 21, 1918, while serving as an officer of the , he secured several live

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

s that had come loose during combat with a German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

. For this act, he was awarded the

. Later in 1918, Ensign Sullivan was assigned to the destroyers and . Promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in September 1918, he served with the U.S. Navy Headquarters in

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, during the months following the November 1918 armistice. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander before leaving the Naval Reserve Force. Sullivan died at age 56 and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

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. He was survived by his wife, Eva Tilton (1877—1973).

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve Force. Born: July 31, 1884, Charleston, S.C. Appointed from: South Carolina. Citation:

For extraordinary heroism as an officer of the U.S.S. Cristabel in conflict with an enemy submarine on May 21, 1918. As a result of the explosion of a depth bomb dropped near the submarine, the Christabel was so badly shaken that a number of depth charges which had been set for firing were thrown about the deck and there was imminent danger that they would explode. Ens. Sullivan immediately fell on the depth charges and succeeded in securing them, thus saving the ship from disaster, which would inevitably have caused great loss of life.

References

: * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Daniel Augustus Joseph 1884 births 1941 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Military personnel from Charleston, South Carolina United States Navy officers Clemson University alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References