Medal of Honor
July 1, 1897
U.S.S. Puritan
- Rank at action
- Watertender
- Service
- U.S. Navy
- Conflict
- Interim 1871 - 1899
- Unit or command
- U.S.S. Puritan
The Citation
Sources ↓On board the U.S.S. Puritan at the time of the collapse of one of the crown sheets of boiler E of that vessel, 1 July 1897. Wrapped in wet cloths to protect his face and arms, Ahern entered the fireroom, crawled over the tops of the boilers and closed the auxiliary stop valve, disconnecting boiler E and removing the danger of disabling the other boilers.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- William Ahern — Congressional Medal of Honor Society recipient profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-09-02
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-003355
- Transcription status
- Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
- Last source check
- 2026-09-02
- Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
- 482
- Accredited to
- New York
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- 882ff62fe553dbe05daa2787ebd048cc44ba8007226625153ecb48ad32b7719f
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile comparison is documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
Current official reference profile confirms identity and core action metadata; exact legacy citation text and checksum are retained; General Order comparison remains pending.