Medal of Honor: Henry William Henrechon, Philippine Insurrection, September 24, 1911
When his rifle jammed in the midst of an ambush, Machinist’s Mate Second Class Henry W. Henrechon smashed it over an attacker’s head, then drew his pistol and charged the enemy. His ferocity under fire helped rout the Moros at Mundang.
September 24, 2025
Name: Henry William Henrechon
Rank: Machinist’s Mate Second Class, U.S. Navy
War: Philippine Insurrection
Date of Action: September 24, 1911
Unit: USS Pampanga (shore party)
Place: Mundang, Basilan, Philippine Islands
Born: November 22, 1885, Hartford, Connecticut
Summary of Action
On September 24, 1911, sailors and Philippine Scouts moved inland from the USS Pampanga to capture the Moro stronghold of Mundang on Basilan. Machinist’s Mate Second Class Henry W. Henrechon was posted as part of a guard element near a cluster of nipa huts along the trail.
The quiet was shattered when some twenty Moros burst from cover, charging the small American force with rifle fire and blades. Henrechon rushed forward at once to reinforce the beleaguered scouts. Firing his rifle, he managed a single shot before it jammed. Without hesitation, he swung the weapon as a club, breaking its stock across the head of the nearest attacker.
Drawing his pistol, Henrechon pressed the counterattack, pursuing the retreating Moros under heavy fire. His ferocity helped scatter the enemy and ensured the survival of the exposed shore party.
His courage under fire, resourcefulness in the heat of combat, and refusal to break contributed materially to the rout of the enemy that day.
Official Medal of Honor Citation
While attached to the U.S.S. Pampanga, Henrechon was one of a shore party moving in to capture Mundang, Philippine Islands, on 24 September 1911. Ordered to take station within 100 yards of a group of nipa huts close to the trail, Henrechon 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 rushed the small group from inside the huts and from other concealed positions. Henrechon, responding to the calls for help, was one of the first on the scene. When his rifle jammed after the first shot, he closed in with rifle, using it as a club to break the stock over the head of the nearest Moro and then, drawing his pistol, started in pursuit of the fleeing outlaws. Henrechon’s aggressive charging of the enemy under heavy fire and in the face of great odds contributed materially to the success of the engagement.
