Medal of Honor: Fred Henry McGuire, Philippine Insurrection, September 24, 1911

Name: Fred Henry McGuire
Rank: Hospital Apprentice, U.S. Navy
War: Philippine Insurrection
Date of Action: September 24, 1911
Unit: USS Pampanga (shore party)
Place: Mundang, Basilan, Philippine Islands
Born: November 7, 1890, Gordonville, Missouri

Summary of Action

On the morning of September 24, 1911, a shore party from the USS Pampanga advanced toward Mundang, a Moro stronghold on Basilan. Hospital Apprentice Fred H. McGuire was ordered to hold position within 100 yards of nipa huts along the trail, covering the scout party as it pressed forward.

Without warning, the enemy struck. From huts and concealed positions, twenty Moros opened point-blank fire and charged. Responding instantly to calls for help, McGuire dashed to the scene. He emptied his rifle into the attackers, then used the weapon as a club in brutal close combat until more sailors arrived.

Even after being wounded himself, McGuire turned to his duty as a hospital apprentice. He rallied to the side of his mortally wounded leader and other casualties, working tirelessly under fire to save lives. His skill and devotion kept two severely wounded men alive who otherwise would have perished.

McGuire’s dual courage—first in battle, then in sacrifice as a medic—made him one of four sailors awarded the Medal of Honor for the fight at Mundang. His actions reflected both ferocity and compassion in the same desperate hour.

Official Medal of Honor Citation

While attached to the U.S.S. Pampanga, McGuire was one of a shore party moving in to capture Mundang, on the island of Basilan, Philippine Islands, on the morning of 24 September 1911. Ordered to take station within 100 yards of a group of nipa huts close to the trail, McGuire advanced and stood guard as the leader and his scout party first searched the surrounding deep grasses, then moved into the open area before the huts. Instantly enemy Moros opened point-blank fire on the exposed men and approximately 20 Moros charged the small group from inside the huts and from other concealed positions. McGuire, responding to the calls for help, was one of the first on the scene. After emptying his rifle into the attackers, he closed in with rifle, using it as a club to wage fierce battle until his comrades arrived on the field, when he rallied to the aid of his dying leader and other wounded. Although himself wounded, McGuire ministered tirelessly and efficiently to those who had been struck down, thereby saving the lives of 2 who otherwise might have succumbed to enemy-inflicted wounds.