A forgotten Medal of Honor recipient was honored last week more than 130 years after he was buried in a mislabeled grave that made no mention of his heroism.
(FOX)- Canadian native Joseph Benjamin Noil enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served during the Civil War WJLA-TV reports.
In 1873 he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor after jumping from the deck of the U.S.S. Powhattan into bitter cold waters in Norfolk Harbor to save a fellow seaman from drowning, the station reported.
He died nine years later at the Government Hospital for the Insane, known today as Saint Elizabeths in Southeast Washington.
His grave marker in the hospital cemetery made no reference to the Medal of Honor and the grave market misspelled his name Noel due to a typo on his death certificate.
“We’re not only correcting a wrong. We’re highlighting and reinforcing that eternal bond that exists between shipmates, past, present and those yet to come,” Chief of Navy Reserve, Vice Adm. Robin Braun said.
He was joined at the ceremony by Canadian Defense Attache Rear Adm. William Truelove.
Attendees also included relatives of Noil who happened to see an online posting about the event a couple of weeks ago.