Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan

Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve

Medal of Honor Recipient

World War I

Lieutenant Commander Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan (31 July 1884 - 27 January 1941) was a U.S. Naval Reserve officer who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during World War I.

Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan was born on 31 July 1884 at Charleston, SC. He attended Clemson College and graduated as part of the Class of 1902. Sullivan enrolled in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force on 12 April 1917, a few days after the U.S. entered World War I. He later received a commission to the rank of Ensign. On 21 May 1918, while serving as an officer of the USS Christabel (SP-162), he secured several live depth charges that had come loose during combat with a German U-Boat. For this act, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve Force.

Citation: For extraordinary heroism as an officer of the U.S.S. Cristabel in conflict with an enemy submarine on 21 May 1918. As a result of the explosion of a depth bomb dropped near the submarine, the Christabel was so badly shaken that a number of depth charges which had been set for firing were thrown about the deck and there was imminent danger that they would explode. Ens. Sullivan immediately fell on the depth charges and succeeded in securing them, thus saving the ship from disaster, which would inevitably have caused great loss of life.

Later in 1918, Ensign Sullivan was assigned to the destroyers USS Drayton (DD-23) and USS Ludlow (DD-112). Promoted to Lieutenant in September 1918, he served with the U.S. Navy Headquarters in London, England, during the months following the November 1918 armistice.

He attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander before leaving the Naval Reserve Force.

Death and Burial

Lieutenant Commander Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan died on 27 January 1941 at age 56. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, in Section 8, Lot 5327-A.

He was survived by his wife, Eva Tilton (1877-1973).