Robert Earl Bonney (November 23, 1882 – November 22, 1967) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

sailor 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 ...

Biography

Early life and career

Bonney was born in Maryville, Blount County,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

on November 23, 1882. In 1901, at the age of 18, he joined the Navy in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

. His early career included service in the Philippines during the

Philippine Insurrection The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Medal of Honor action

By February 14, 1910, he was serving as a chief

watertender A fireman, stoker or boilerman is a person who tends the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into the boiler's firebox. ...

on the . On that day, the ''Hopkins'' experienced a

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

accident. For their actions during the incident, Bonney and another sailor, Watertender Edward Alvin Clary, were awarded the Medal of Honor. Bonney's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

While serving on board the U.S.S. ''Hopkins'', Bonney displayed extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of the accident to one of the boilers of that vessel, 14 February 1910.

Later career

Bonney's later career included service in Nicaragua in 1912, the Mexican intervention in 1914 and World War I. He retired from the Navy in 1930 the

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

rank of chief machinist. Bonney returned to active duty during World War II and was promoted to lieutenant. He served as an inspector of shipyards in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. He retired from the Navy for the second time shortly after the war's end in 1945.

Retirement

Bonney was an active in

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

and the Fleet Reserve Association. In 1957 he was invited to attend the second inauguration of President Dwight Eisenhower. In 1958, at Eisenhower's request, he laid a wreath at the

Tomb of the Unknowns The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, United States is the burial site (and the white, marble sarcophagus above it) of a World War I soldier whose remains were unidentifiable. After a ...

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. ...

. He also attended the funeral of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

at the invitation of the Kennedy family. He died on November 22, 1967.

Awards

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 and 1913. Although a single service medal, the Philippin ...

Nicaraguan Campaign Medal The Nicaraguan Campaign Medal is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, campaign medal of the United States Navy which was authorized by Presidential Order of Woodrow Wilson on September 22, 1913. A later medal, the Second Nicara ...

Mexican Service Medal The Mexican Service Medal was an award of the United States military for service in Mexico from 1911 to 1919. History The Mexican Service Medal awarded by the Army was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December ...

* World War I Victory Medal *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had per ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. Histo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonney, Robert Earl 1882 births 1967 deaths Military personnel from Tennessee United States Navy sailors United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients Non-combat recipients of the Medal of Honor