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Contookcook, N.H., Vice Admiral Guy H. Burrage, USN Retired,one-time commandant of the Fifth Naval District and the naval operating base at Norfolk, VA died at his summer home yesterday. He was 87. Admiral Burrage headed the Fifth District at the time of his retirement in 1931 after 44 years’ service. In 1919 he was commandant of the Norfolk Navy Yard. He leaves his widow, Mary Burrage, 2 daughters and 9 grandchildren. Funeral services were scheduled for this afternoon at Hopkinton with burial in Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Rear Admiral Guy H. Burrage, United States Navy, and president of the Board of Inspection and Survey, Office of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C., was promoted to his present rank June 27, 1920. He had held the rank of temporary rear admiral, having been so commissioned while in command of the battleship Nebraska, which was in the convoy service during the latter part of the World War.
Rear Admiral Burrage was born at Lowell, Massachusetts, June 14, 1867, son of Hamilton and Mary Howe (Davis) Burrage. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy and was graduated in 1887. During the years he has been in the navy he has risen steadily through the grades to his present rank and has seen the following service: Lieutenant, junior grade, on the Wheeling, Spanish-American War; executive office of the Washington and then on the Connecticut, 1907-10; commanded the Albatross, 1910-12; at Naval War College, Newport, R.I., 1912; on duty U.S. Naval Academy, 1912-14; commandant of midshipmen, Naval Academy, 1914-15; commanded the Nebraska, 1915-19; attached to office of naval operations, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., 1919; commandant, Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, 1919; Navy Department and president of the Board of Inspection and Survey. Commandant of the Navy Yard at Norfolk, 1919-1921. In 1921 Rear Admiral Burrage commanded the destroyer division for the Pacific fleet. Commander of United States Naval Forces in Europe, 1926-1928 and commanded the ship that brought back Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis from Paris, 1927. His final post was Commandant of the Fifth Naval District at Norfolk, Virginia 1928-1931.
On September 4, 1894, he married Mary Ricketts Graham, of California, and has three daughters -- Mrs. W.W. Gwathmey, Jr.; Mrs. Barton Myers, Jr.; and Miss Charlotte Meade Burrage.
He is a member of the Army and Navy Club, Washington, D.C.
Awarded the Navy Cross during World War One (see ribbon bar for citation).
Description The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military which was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December 12, 1917. The Mexican Service Medal recognizes those service members who performed military service against Mexican forces between the dates of April 12, 1911 and June 16, 1919.
To be awarded the Mexican Service Medal, a service member was required to perform military duty during the time period of eligibility and in one of the following military engagements.
Veracruz Expedition: April 21 to November 23, 1914
Punitive Expedition into Mexico: March 14, 1916 to February 7, 1917
Buena Vista, Mexico: December 1, 1917
San Bernardino Canyon, Mexico: December 26, 1917
La Grulla, Texas: January 8 – January 9, 1918
Pilares, Chihuahua: March 28, 1918
Nogales, Arizona: November 1–26, 1915, or August 27, 1918
El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua: June 15 – June 16, 1919
The United States Navy issued the Mexican Service Medal to members of the Navy and Marines who participated in any of the above actions, as well as to service members who served aboard U.S. naval vessels patrolling Mexican waters between April 21 and November 26, 1914, or between March 14, 1916, and February 7, 1917.
The Mexican Service Medal was also awarded to any service member who was wounded or killed while participating in action any against hostile Mexican forces between April 12, 1911 and February 7, 1917.
Although a single decoration, both the Army and Navy issued two different versions of the Mexican Service Medal. The Army Mexican Service Medal displayed an engraving of a yucca plant, while the Navy version depicts the San Juan de Ulúa fortress in Veracruz harbor. Both medals displayed the annotation "1911 - 1917" on the bottom of the medal.
The Mexican Service Medal was a one time decoration and there were no service stars authorized for those who had participated in multiple engagements. For those Army members who had been cited for gallantry in combat, the Citation Star was authorized as a device to the Mexican Service Medal. There were no devices authorized for the Navy's version of the decoration.
A similar decoration, known as the Mexican Border Service Medal also existed for those who had performed support duty to Mexican combat expeditions from within the United States.
