US People--McGuire, Fred H, Chief Pharmacist's Mate, USN.

PEOPLE--UNITED STATES

Chief Pharmacist's Mate Fred H. McGuire, USN, (1890-1958)

Fred Henry McGuire was born on 7 November 1890 in Gordonville, Missouri. He enlisted from that same state in the U.S. Navy and became rated as a Hospital Apprentice. On 24 September 1911, he served in a shore party from the gunboat USS Pampanga ordered to capture the Moros outlaws near the Mundang village on Basilan, Philippine Islands. Suddenly, the outlaws attacked by surprise. McGuire fired back at the enemy, and when his ammunition was depleted, he used his rifle as a weapon. Subsquently wounded in the battle, he immediately helped his dying leader and other wounded crewmembers until help arrived. For his action on this occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

In November 1939, McGuire retired from the Navy. During World War II, he was recalled to active duty and served in the Hospital Corps Division at Bureau of Medicine, Washington, D.C. In October 1945, he was again placed on the retired list. Fred H. McGuire died on 4 February 1958 and is buried at Springfield National Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri.

This page features the only image we have concerning Fred H. McGuire.

Photo #: NH 106437

Chief Pharmacist's Mate Fred H. McGuire, USN
(right)

Interviewed by Lieutenant Benjamin F. Dixon, MC, USN, (center), at the Archives and History Office, Hospital Corps Section at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C., circa 1940s. Lieutenant Commander Paul Hapke, MC, USN, (left), was also interviewed at the same time.
Fred H. McGuire received the Medal of Honor for his actions while serving as a Hospital Apprentice with a scout party attached to USS Pampanga (PG-39) detailed to capture enemy Moros outlaws at Mundang, Basilan Island, Philippine Islands on 24 September 1911.

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph

Online Image: 54KB; 580 x 765 pixels

Medal of Honor citation of Hospital Apprentice Fred Henry McGuire, USN (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 94):

"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 with 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 two who otherwise might have succumbed to enemy-inflicted wounds."

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To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.