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Steven Loomis (SaigonShipyard), IC3
to remember
OLSEN, Ludwig Andreas (Louis Williams), PO1.
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Contact Info
Home Town Oslo, Norway
Date of Passing Feb 20, 1886
Location of Interment Cypress Hills National Cemetery (VA) - Brooklyn, New York
Ludwig Andreas Olsen
aka Louis Williams
U.S. Navy, rank of: "Captain of the Hold" Medal of Honor (x2)
Twice Honored Oslo native Louis Williams, born Ludwig Andreas Olsen, is in the minority when it comes to the Medal of Honor recipients. He is one of only 19 men to have ever received the honor twice. No one has ever received more Medals of Honor.
Williams was serving as a Marine captain on the USS Lackawanna off of the coast of Honolulu in 1883 when a fellow seaman, Thomas Moran, fell overboard. Olsen dived into the water and saved Moran from drowning. One year later, Williams was serving off of the coast of Callao, Peru, when he again jumped overboard to save William Cruise after he fell off of the ship. On October 18, 1884, Williams was awarded two Medals of Honor for his brave acts.
Other Comments:
Biography Olsen was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1845. He joined the Navy in California under the name Louis Williams. He eventually achieved the rank of Captain of the Hold, an enlisted position that placed him in charge of keeping order in the ship's hold.
On 16 March 1883, aboard the screw sloop-of-war USS Lackawanna off Honolulu, Hawaii, Olsen jumped overboard and saved a fellow sailor from drowning. The next year, on 13 June 1884 off the coast of Callao, Peru, Olsen again saved a man from drowning. For each of these peace-time actions he was awarded a Medal of Honor. Both medals were presented to him on 18 October 1884, making Olsen one of only 19 people to receive two Medals of Honor and one of only 14 people to receive two Medals of Honor for two separate acts of heroism. Both medals were awarded under the name he had enlisted with, Louis Williams.
Olsen's awards were for peace-time actions; it can be argued today he would now be awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. Olsen died on 20 February 1886 and is buried in Cypress Hills National Cemetery, Section 6, Grave 12616, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York.
Medal of Honor-
First Citation:
"For jumping overboard from the U.S.S Lackawanna, 16 March 1883, at Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, and rescuing from drowning Thomas Moran, landsman."
Second Citation:
"Serving on board the U.S.S. Lackawanna, Williams rescued from drowning William Cruise, who had fallen overboard at Callao, Peru, 13 June 1884."
Other Memories Pacific, 1866-1885 Recommissioned on 7 May 1866, Commander William Reynolds in command, Lackawanna sailed for the South Atlantic on 4 August, transited the Straits of Magellan on 9 November, and arrived Honolulu, Hawaii on 9 February 1867. She operated in the Pacific, primarily in the Hawaiian Islands and along the coast of California and Mexico until she arrived at Mare Island for decommissioning on 10 February 1871. Recommissioning on 8 May 1872, the steam sloop sailed for the Orient on 22 June and served in the Far East until returning to San Francisco, California on 23 April 1875. In October 1880, in the midst of the War of the Pacific, Lackawanna sailed for the South Pacific to host a conference of diplomacy proposed by the U.S. to end the war. Officials from the countries involved in the war - Peru, Chile, and Bolivia - did not reach an immediate agreement and U.S. efforts failed. For two brief periods, Lackawanna continued to operate in ordinary in the Pacific during the next 12 years. She finally decommissioned at Mare Island on 7 April 1885 and was sold there to W. T. Garratt & Company on 30 July 1887.
