Henry Breault
Encyclopedia
Henry Breault was a United States Navy
sailor who received the Medal of Honor
for his actions while serving aboard the (US Submarine O-5). He is the only enlisted submariner to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions aboard a United States submarine.
, Connecticut
, on October 14, 1900. He enlisted in the British
Royal Navy
at sixteen years of age and, after serving under the White Ensign
for four years, joined the U.S. Navy.
On October 28, 1923 Torpedoman Second Class Breault was a member of the crew of when that submarine
was sunk in a collision in the Panama Canal
. Though he could have escaped, Breault chose to assist a shipmate, and remained inside the sunken submarine until both were rescued more than a day later. For his "heroism and devotion to duty" on this occasion, Henry Breault was awarded the Medal of Honor. He received his Medal of Honor from President
Calvin Coolidge
, in ceremonies at the White House
, Washington, D.C.
, on March 8, 1924.
Following twenty years of U.S. Navy service, Henry Breault became ill with a heart condition. He died at the Naval Hospital at Newport
, Rhode Island
, on December 4, 1941. He was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery in Putnam, Connecticut.
toward the entrance to the Panama Canal
. The steamship SS Abangarez, owned by the United Fruit Company
and captained by Master W.A. Card, was underway toward Dock No. 6 at Cristobal. Through a series of maneuvering errors and miscommunication, the SS Abangarez collided with the and struck the submarine on the starboard side of the control room, opening a hole some ten feet long and penetrating the number one main ballast tank. The submarine rolled sharply to port – then back to starboard – and sank bow first in 42 feet of water.
The steamship picked up eight survivors – including the Commanding Officer – who had either been topside or climbed up quickly through the conning tower hatch. Nearby tugs and ships rescued several others. Eight minutes after sank, Chief Machinist’s Mate C.R. Butler surfaced in an air bubble. In all, 16 crewmen were rescued. Five were missing. These were Chief Electrician’s Mate Lawrence T. Brown and Torpedoman’s Mate Second Class Henry Breault, plus three others
Henry Breault had been working in the torpedo room when the collision occurred, and he headed up the ladder topside. As he gained the main deck, he realized that Chief Brown was asleep below. Instead of going over the side, Breault headed back below to get Brown and shut the deck hatch over his head just as the bow went under. Brown was awake, but unaware of the order to abandon ship. Both men headed aft to exit through Control, but the water coming into the Forward Battery compartment made that escape route unusable. They made it through the rising water to the torpedo room and had just shut and dogged the door when the battery shorted and exploded. Breault knew the bow was under, and they were trapped.
Salvage efforts began immediately, and divers were sent down from a salvage tug that arrived from Coco Solo
. By 10:00am, they were on the bottom examining the wreck. To search for trapped personnel, they hammered on the hull near the aft end of the ship and worked forward. Upon reaching the torpedo room, they heard answering hammer blows from inside the boat. In those days before modern safety and rescue devices, the only way the salvage crew, under the command of Captain Amos Bronson, Jr., could get the men out of the boat was to lift it physically from the mud using cranes or pontoons. There were no pontoons within 2,000 miles of the site, but there were two of the largest crane barges in the world, Ajax and Hercules, in the Canal Zone. They were built specifically for handling the gates of the canal locks. However, there had been a landslide at the famous Gaillard Cut
and both barges were on the other side of the slide, assisting in clearing the Canal. The excavation shifted into high gear and by 2:00pm on the afternoon of the sinking, the crane barge Ajax squeezed through and was on its way to the site.
Divers worked to tunnel under the ’s bow so lifting cables could be attached. Ajax arrived about midnight, and by early morning, the cable tunnel had been dug, the cable run, and a lift was attempted. Sheppard J. Shreaves, supervisor of the Panama Canal’s salvage crew and himself a qualified diver, had been working continuously throughout the night to dig the tunnel, snake the cable under the submarine, and hook it to Ajax’s hoist. Now the lift began. As the crane took a strain, the lift cables broke. Shreaves and his crew worked another cable set under the bow and again Ajax pulled. Again, the cable broke. All through the day, the men worked. Shreaves had been in his diving suit nearly 24 hours. As midnight on the 29th approached, the crane was ready for another lift, this time with buoyancy being added by blowing water out of the flooded Engine Room. Then, just after midnight, the bow of broke the surface. Men from the salvage force quickly opened the torpedo room hatch, and Breault and Brown emerged into the fresh air.
For his role in the rescue, Sheppard Shreaves later received the Congressional Life Saving Medal, presented personally by Breault and Brown that same year.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
sailor who received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his actions while serving aboard the (US Submarine O-5). He is the only enlisted submariner to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions aboard a United States submarine.
Biography
Henry Breault was born in PutnamPutnam, Connecticut
Putnam is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,002 as of the 2000 census. It is home to WINY, an AM radio station.-History:...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, on October 14, 1900. He enlisted in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
at sixteen years of age and, after serving under the White Ensign
White Ensign
The White Ensign or St George's Ensign is an ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the upper canton....
for four years, joined the U.S. Navy.
On October 28, 1923 Torpedoman Second Class Breault was a member of the crew of when that submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
was sunk in a collision in the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. Though he could have escaped, Breault chose to assist a shipmate, and remained inside the sunken submarine until both were rescued more than a day later. For his "heroism and devotion to duty" on this occasion, Henry Breault was awarded the Medal of Honor. He received his Medal of Honor from President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
, in ceremonies at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, on March 8, 1924.
Following twenty years of U.S. Navy service, Henry Breault became ill with a heart condition. He died at the Naval Hospital at Newport
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, on December 4, 1941. He was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery in Putnam, Connecticut.
Medal of Honor Action
On 28 October 1923, the was operating with other units of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet under the command of Commander Submarine Force, Coco Solo, Canal Zone. At approximately 0630, , under the command of Lieutenant Harrison Avery, was underway leading a column of submarines consisting of , , , and across Limon BayLimon Bay
Limon Bay is a natural harbor located at the north end of the Panama Canal, west of the cities of Cristóbal and Colón. Ships waiting to enter the canal stay here, protected from storms by breakwaters....
toward the entrance to the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. The steamship SS Abangarez, owned by the United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
and captained by Master W.A. Card, was underway toward Dock No. 6 at Cristobal. Through a series of maneuvering errors and miscommunication, the SS Abangarez collided with the and struck the submarine on the starboard side of the control room, opening a hole some ten feet long and penetrating the number one main ballast tank. The submarine rolled sharply to port – then back to starboard – and sank bow first in 42 feet of water.
The steamship picked up eight survivors – including the Commanding Officer – who had either been topside or climbed up quickly through the conning tower hatch. Nearby tugs and ships rescued several others. Eight minutes after sank, Chief Machinist’s Mate C.R. Butler surfaced in an air bubble. In all, 16 crewmen were rescued. Five were missing. These were Chief Electrician’s Mate Lawrence T. Brown and Torpedoman’s Mate Second Class Henry Breault, plus three others
Henry Breault had been working in the torpedo room when the collision occurred, and he headed up the ladder topside. As he gained the main deck, he realized that Chief Brown was asleep below. Instead of going over the side, Breault headed back below to get Brown and shut the deck hatch over his head just as the bow went under. Brown was awake, but unaware of the order to abandon ship. Both men headed aft to exit through Control, but the water coming into the Forward Battery compartment made that escape route unusable. They made it through the rising water to the torpedo room and had just shut and dogged the door when the battery shorted and exploded. Breault knew the bow was under, and they were trapped.
Salvage efforts began immediately, and divers were sent down from a salvage tug that arrived from Coco Solo
Coco Solo
Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base established in 1918 on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Panama Canal Zone, near Colón, Panama....
. By 10:00am, they were on the bottom examining the wreck. To search for trapped personnel, they hammered on the hull near the aft end of the ship and worked forward. Upon reaching the torpedo room, they heard answering hammer blows from inside the boat. In those days before modern safety and rescue devices, the only way the salvage crew, under the command of Captain Amos Bronson, Jr., could get the men out of the boat was to lift it physically from the mud using cranes or pontoons. There were no pontoons within 2,000 miles of the site, but there were two of the largest crane barges in the world, Ajax and Hercules, in the Canal Zone. They were built specifically for handling the gates of the canal locks. However, there had been a landslide at the famous Gaillard Cut
Gaillard Cut
The Gaillard Cut, or Culebra Cut, is an artificial valley that cuts through the continental divide in Panama. The cut forms part of the Panama Canal, linking Lake Gatún, and thereby the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Panama and hence the Pacific Ocean...
and both barges were on the other side of the slide, assisting in clearing the Canal. The excavation shifted into high gear and by 2:00pm on the afternoon of the sinking, the crane barge Ajax squeezed through and was on its way to the site.
Divers worked to tunnel under the ’s bow so lifting cables could be attached. Ajax arrived about midnight, and by early morning, the cable tunnel had been dug, the cable run, and a lift was attempted. Sheppard J. Shreaves, supervisor of the Panama Canal’s salvage crew and himself a qualified diver, had been working continuously throughout the night to dig the tunnel, snake the cable under the submarine, and hook it to Ajax’s hoist. Now the lift began. As the crane took a strain, the lift cables broke. Shreaves and his crew worked another cable set under the bow and again Ajax pulled. Again, the cable broke. All through the day, the men worked. Shreaves had been in his diving suit nearly 24 hours. As midnight on the 29th approached, the crane was ready for another lift, this time with buoyancy being added by blowing water out of the flooded Engine Room. Then, just after midnight, the bow of broke the surface. Men from the salvage force quickly opened the torpedo room hatch, and Breault and Brown emerged into the fresh air.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Torpedoman Second Class, U.S. Navy. Born: October 14, 1900, Putnam, Conn. Accredited to: Vermont. G.O. No.: 125, February 20, 1924.
Citation:
- For heroism and devotion to duty while serving on board the U.S. submarine O-5 at the time of the sinking of that vessel. On the morning of 28 October 1923, the O-5 collided with the steamship Abangarez and sank in less than a minute. When the collision occurred, Breault was in the torpedo room. Upon reaching the hatch, he saw that the boat was rapidly sinking. Instead of jumping overboard to save his own life, he returned to the torpedo room to the rescue of a shipmate whom he knew was trapped in the boat, closing the torpedo room hatch on himself. Breault and Brown remained trapped in this compartment until rescued by the salvage party 31 hours later.
For his role in the rescue, Sheppard Shreaves later received the Congressional Life Saving Medal, presented personally by Breault and Brown that same year.
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of Medal of Honor recipients during Peacetime