Henry L. Hulbert

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Henry Lewis Hulbert
January 12, 1867 - October 4, 1918
Henry Lewis Hulbert, Medal of Honor recipient
Place of birth	Kingston upon Hull, England
Place of death	KIA at Mont Blanc Ridge, France
Allegiance	USMC
Years of service	1898-1918
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	USS Philadelphia 5th Marines
Battles/wars	Philippine-American War World War I * Battle of Belleau Wood * Soissons * Battle of Mont Blanc Ridge
Awards	Medal of Honor Navy Cross Distinguished Service Cross Purple Heart Croix de guerre

Henry Lewis Hulbert (1867-1918) was a United States Marine who served during the Philippine-American War and World War I. As a private, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for "distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy at Samoa, Philippine Islands, 1 April 1899".

Subsequently, he distinguished himself at the Battle of Belleau Wood, Soisson and Mont Blanc Ridge, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross. He was killed in action at Mont Blanc Ridge in 1918 and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Marine Corps enlistment 3 Philippine-American War 4 World War I 4.1 Battle of Belleau Wood 4.2 Soissons and Mont Blanc Ridge 5 Honors 6 References

[edit] Early years

Henry Lewis Hulbert was born in Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, England on January 12, 1867. He was the first born into a properous family. He attended the exclusive Felsted School in Essex. He entered the British Colonial Civil Service, with his first appointment in Malaya. While in Malaya, he married Anne Rose Hewitt. A subsequent personal scandal and divorce resulted in Hulbert leaving Malaysia and arriving in the United States.

[edit] Marine Corps enlistment

At age 31, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on 28 March 1898. He completed his boot camp training at Mare Island, California.

[edit] Philippine-American War

Following boot camp, Hulbert was assigned to the USS Philadelphia (C-4) and was sent to Samoa with a joint British-American expedition during the Philippine-American War. When the landing force was ambushed, Hulbert, though wounded, was able to single-handedly delay the enemy until the landing force could reach a defensible position. For that action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

[edit] World War I

By the time the United States entered World War I, in 1917, Hulbert had reached the highest enlisted rank of sergeant major and was on the staff of MajGen George Barnett, Commandant of the Marine Corps. Soon after the U.S. entered World War I, Hulbert was appointed a marine gunner with the Fifth Regiment.

[edit] Battle of Belleau Wood

Hulbert was recognized for multiple acts of bravery during the Battle of Belleau Wood. For one such action, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was recommended by General John J. Pershing for immediate commission as a Captain.

[edit] Soissons and Mont Blanc Ridge

He distinguished himself again at Soisson and was commissioned a second lieutenant and received an immediate promotion to First Lieutenant. He was killed in action at Mont Blanc Ridge in France on 4 October 1918. At the time of his death, his promotion to Captain had been approved by the Secretary of the Navy. He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously and received the French Croix de Guerre Order of the Army.

Hulbert was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

[edit] Honors

The U.S. Navy destroyter USS Henry L. Hulbert (DD-342), named in his honor, was christened on 28 June 1919, and commissioned and put into service in 1920. The destroyer was moored in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and brought down a Japanese torpedo bomber. The Hulbert was decommissioned in 1945.

[edit] References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the United States Marine Corps.

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Henry Lewis Hulbert, First Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps, Arlington National Cemetery profile.
• Bevilacqua, Allan C. "From Exile to Hero", originally appeared in the Marine Corps Gazette.
• Pvt Henry L. Hulbert, Medal of Honor, 1899, Samoa, Medal of Honor citation.