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Rank and organization: Chief Machinist's Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 30 April
1892, Providence, R.l. Accredited to: Florida. G.O. No.: 436, 1918. Citation:
For extraordinary heroism while attached to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola,
Fla., on 25 September 1918. While flying with Ens. J. A. Jova, Ormsbee
saw a plane go into a tailspin and crash about three-quarters of a mile
to the right. Having landed near by, Ormsbee lost no time in going overboard
and made for the wreck, which was all under water except the 2 wing tips.
He succeeded in partially extricating the gunner so that his head was out
of water, and held him in this position until the speedboat arrived. Ormsbee
then made a number of desperate attempts to rescue the pilot, diving into
the midst of the tangled wreckage although cut about the hands, but was
too late to save his life.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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