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U.S. Navy
Covington, Jesse Whitfield
Covington, Jesse Whitfield

ConflictWorld War I
RankChief Steward
Year of Action1918
Unit/CommandUSS Stewart (DD-13)
HometownTennessee

Citation

For extraordinary heroism following internal explosion of the Florence H. The sea in the vicinity of wreckage was covered by a mass of boxes of smokeless powder, which were repeatedly exploding. Jesse W. Covington, of the USS Stewart, plunged overboard to rescue a survivor who was surrounded by powder boxes and too exhausted to help himself, fully realizing that similar powder boxes in the vicinity were continually exploding and that he was thereby risking his life in saving the life of this man.

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