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Boatswain's Mate Second Class · U.S. Navy

Joseph Gabriel Harner

Boatswain's Mate Second Class Joseph Gabriel Harner, Navy, received the Medal of Honor for actions on April 21, 1914 in Vera Cruz, Mexico during the 1914 Veracruz expedition.

Mexican Campaign (Vera Cruz) April 21, 1914

Boatswain's Mate Second Class Joseph Gabriel Harner was a sailor in the U.S. Navy who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on April 21, 1914 in Vera Cruz, Mexico during the 1914 Veracruz expedition. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. Florida. Harner was 25 years old.

40 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on January 6, 1915 — presented by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels on the deck of the USS Florida at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York.

Harner was born on February 19, 1889 in Louisville, Stark County, Ohio. His Medal of Honor is credited to Ohio. Harner died on March 5, 1958, at the age of 69. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Harner is one of 56 Medal of Honor recipients from the 1914 Veracruz expedition and one of 256 credited to Ohio.

Official Medal of Honor citation

On board the U.S.S. Florida, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the seizure of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 21 April 1914.

Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.

From the archives

Additional information on his action comes from U.S. Navy General Order No. 101, dated June 15, 1914. "On April 21, at about 12:30 p.m., Ensign G. M. Lowry, in command of First Company, Florida Battalion, at the customhouse, called for volunteers to go into an alleyway betwen the customhouse and an open warehouse down which a heavy fire was being directed by the enemy from the Orinete Hotel on Avenida Landeros y Cos. Harner responded with four others and finally succeeded in dislodging the enemy. J. F. Schumacker, coxswain, one of the volunteers, was killed. Previous to this time Harner occupied a position alongside customhouse wall, from which he, with accuracy and coolness, killed the crew of a Mexican machine gun operating in front of the Naval Academy." The other four volunteers were George Cregan, Harry C. Beasley, Lawrence C. Sinnett, and J. F. Schumacker. All except for Schumacker received the Medal of Honor.

Timeline

  1. February 19, 1889
    Born in Louisville, Stark County, Ohio
  2. April 21, 1914
    Act of valor — Vera Cruz, Mexico
    Age 25. U.S.S. Florida
  3. January 6, 1915
    Medal of Honor presented
    Presented by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels on the deck of the USS Florida at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York.
  4. March 5, 1958
    Died
    Age 69.
  5. Resting place
    Arlington National Cemetery
    Arlington, Virginia

Also honored for actions on April 21, 1914

OB Oscar Charles Badger Ensign · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 HB Harry C. Beasley Seaman · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 Randolph Carter Berkeley Major · Marine Corps Veracruz 1914 · 1914 Charles Francis Bishop Quartermaster Second Class · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 GB George Bradley Chief Gunner's Mate · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 Allen Buchanan Lieutenant Commander · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 Guy Wilkinson stuart Castle Lieutenant · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 George McCall Courts Lieutenant, j.g. · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 GC George Cregan Coxswain · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 PD Percy A. Decker Boatswain's Mate Second Class · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 Abraham Desomer Lieutenant · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914 ND Niels Drustrup Lieutenant · Navy Veracruz 1914 · 1914

See all 41 recipients for April 21, 1914 →

Sources. Service and award details compiled from the recipient record of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. The narrative summary is generated from these records. Spotted an error? Send a correction.