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Steven Loomis, IC3
to remember
Hulsebus, Edgar W.G., S1c.
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Contact Info
Home Town Canton, Missouri
Last Address Canton, Lewis Co., MO
Surviving relatives: Mr. & Mrs. Peter W. Hulsebus R.F.D.#2, Canton, Missouri
SN1/c EDGAR WILLIAM GEORGE HULSEBUS (Edgar Wilhelm Georg Hulsebus)
NAVY CROSS (Posthumous)
Seaman, listed as Coxswain, U.S. Navy
USS PANAY, YANGTZE RIVER PATROL
SHANGHIA CHINA 1936-1937
From the Canton, Mo. newspaper Dec. 20, 1937
The body of Edgar William George Hulsebus, 26, seaman on the Gunboat Panay, United States Navy, who died in Shanghai Saturday afternoon from wounds caused by fragments of Japanese bombs during the bombing of an American gunboat by Japanese planes on December 12 (1937) will be brought home to Canton for burial but the date of arrival is not yet known. The community was deeply stirred by the death of the young seaman who enlisted in the Navy in 1932 and was assigned to duty aboard the Panay in March 1936 for service on the Yangtze River in China.
Edgar Wm. Geo. HULSEBUS
NAVY CROSS
synopsis: For having distinguished himself by display of heroism on the occasion of the bombing and loss of the USS Panay on 12 December 1937. Hulsebus was a member of the crew, which courageously operated the machine gun battery against the attacking planes, even though these guns could not bear forward from which direction most of the attacks were made. He remained at his post of duty until he was fatally wounded and carried from the ship. His performance of duty on this occasion was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval Service.
DIED- 19 December 1937 at County Hospital, Shanghai, China, of wounds, gunshot, sixth dorsal vertebrae. His family was later awarded $40,000 by the Japanese government.
Navy Cross Awarded posthumously for actions during Peace Time
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Coxswain Edgar W. G. Hulsebus, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty during the bombing and loss of the U.S.S. PANAY (PR-5), when that vessel was attacked by Japanese airplanes during patrol in the Yangtze River, China, on 12 December 1937. Coxswain Hulsebus was a member of the crew which courageously operated the machine gun battery against the attacking planes, even though these guns could not bear forward from which direction most of the attacks were made. He remained at his post of duty until he was fatally wounded and carried from the ship. The conduct of Coxswain Hulsebus throughout this action reflects great credit upon himself, and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
General Orders: Bureau of Navigation Bulletin 261 (July 1, 1938) Action Date: 12-Dec-37 Service: Navy Rank: Coxswain Division: U.S.S. Panay (PR-5)
While it did not lead to war, the Panay incident certainly hardened attitudes in the United States. From 1938 onward, America's stance towards Japan would be increasingly tough, and its actions viewed as aggressive. After the outbreak of WWII of course, the Panay incident took on a different meaning: it was seen as a deceitful prelude to Pearl Harbor. "Remember the Panay" became a well-known slogan, albeit one less powerful than that affiliated with the Maine. "I have been told I am the first U.S. Naval officer," Cmdr. Arthur Anders recounted proudly in 1999, "to give the order to commence firing on Japanese military forces." From that perspective, coxswain Edgar Hulsebus and storekeeper Charles L. Ensminger were the first American sailors to die in WWII. Unfortunately, they would not be the last.
