John Henry Helms

John Henry Helms (March 16, 1874 – February 17, 1919) was a United States Marine and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for saving a shipmate from drowning.

Biography Helms was born on March 16, 1874, in Chicago, Illinois, and enlisted in the Marines on July 6, 1897, at the Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. Later, Congress imposed the requirement on the Navy by statute in 1919, although the Navy then chose to follow the earlier law, which permitted noncombat awards of the medal until the statute was finally repealed in 1963. The last non-combat Navy Medal of Honor was awarded in 1945, although the Department of the Navy attempted to award a non-combat Medal of Honor as late as the Korean War. The noncombat Medal of Honor was eventually replaced by the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

Helms was first recommended for the Medal of Honor by the Chicago'''s captain, Charles H. Rockwell. The nomination was endorsed by Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, commander of the South Atlantic Squadron, and forwarded to the Bureau of Navigation, which was in charge of personnel affairs. The bureau chief, Admiral Arent S. Crowninshield, advised that the nomination be rejected. Crowninshield believed that, since the Chicago'' had been at anchor in calm seas, Helms' actions did not put himself in danger and did not constitute "extraordinary heroism." The Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Charles Heywood, felt otherwise, stating that Helms "displayed extraordinary heroism in saving lives at the risk of his own." The final decision was made by the Secretary of the Navy, John Davis Long. Long agreed with Crowninshield that the rescue of Tomizi by itself was not sufficient for the decoration, but added that Helms' previous rescue of Gallagher and the endorsements by Admiral Schley and General Heywood were enough to warrant the medal.