Harry C. Beasley

Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Navy

Medal of Honor Recipient

Occupation of Veracruz

Chief Petty Officer Harry C. Beasley (1 November 1888 - 2 July 1931) was a U.S. Navy sailor who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during the Occupation of Veracruz.

Harry C. Beasley was born on 1 November 1888 in Newark, OH. After joining the U.S. Navy, Beasley served as a Seaman on board the USS Florida.

Occupation of Veracruz

In 1914, Beasley took part in the U.S. Occupation of Veracruz, 1914, serving as an armed sailor (known as "Bluejackets") tasked with capturing the city's Custom's House. Led by Ensign George M. Lowry, Beasley's company was pinned down by "murderous rifle and machine gun fire." Not wanting to risk his entire company, Lowry asked for volunteers to approach the Custom's House from the side. Five men volunteered: Beasley, Joseph G. Harner, Coxswain J. F. Schumaker, Boatswain's Mate Second Class George Cregan, and Seaman Lawrence C. Sinnett.

Lowry led the volunteers into a narrow alley, where they came under a cross fire from riflemen in the Custom's Building and machine gunners in a nearby hotel. During this fighting, "A bullet clipped one of the buttons off Lowry's cap and another tore through his right legging, creasing the flesh. Beasley was slightly wounded, and Schumaker was shot through the head."

After his men were able to silence the machine gunners with return rifle fire, Lowry called for a corpsman to help Schumaker. Hospital Apprentice First Class William Zuiderveld ran down the alley and tried to stop the flow of blood from Schumaker's head, but was unable to do so. Schumaker soon died.

Once Zuiderveld carried Schumaker to the rear, Lowry and his surviving men worked their way up the alley and scaled the wall around the Custom's House. After Lowry and his men smashed through a window of the Custom's House, the personnel inside surrendered. Several days later, Lowry returned to the scene and counted twelve bullet impacts on the wall where his men had climbed it.

Beasley, along with almost all of the men who volunteered for the attack, received the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy

Citation: On board the USS Florida for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession during the seizure of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 21 April 1914.

Post-War Life

After the war, Beasley returned to his hometown of Newark and, in 1926, became a police officer with the Newark Police Department.

Medals and Awards

Medal of Honor
Good Conduct Medal
World War I Victory Medal
Mexican Service Medal
Navy Expeditionary Medal

Honors

Beasley's Medal of Honor and other military awards are on display in the lobby of the Newark Police Department, having been donated by his surviving relatives.

Death and Burial

During the evening of 30 June 1931, police officer Beasley was walking a downtown beat when "he was gunned down by an armed gang attempting the theft of a safe from a local shoe store."

Harry C. Beasley died of multiple gunshot wounds on 2 July 1931. His killers were never identified or caught. He is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Newark, OH, in Section 16, Lot 123.