Charles H Hammann
Charles was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on the 16th of March, 1892. He attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute before joining the US Naval Reserve in October of 1917. Charles was an early Naval aviator when he deployed to Europe during World War 1. It was his actions while flying a Macchi M.5 seaplane off the Austro-Hungarian coast (now the coast of Croatia and Bosnia) that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
For extraordinary heroism as a pilot of a seaplane on 21 August 1918, when with 3 other planes Ens. Hammann took part in a patrol and attacked a superior force of enemy land planes. In the course of the engagement which followed the plane of Ens. George M. Ludlow was shot down and fell in the water 5 miles off Pola. Ens. Hammann immediately dived down and landed on the water close alongside the disabled machine, where he took Ludlow on board. Although his machine was not designed for the double load to which it was subjected, and although there was danger of attack by Austrian planes, he made his way to Porto Corsini.
Charles was an enlisted pilot at the time of his actions and was then commissioned to Ensign two months later. Charles Hazeltine Hammann died while on active duty at Langley Field, Virginia, on the 14th of June, 1919 at the age of 27. I could not find any information regarding the event that lead to his death. There have been two ships named in his honor: The first USS Hammann was a World War 2 Sims-class destroyer and the second was an Edsall-class destroyer, also during World War 2. Charles is buried in the Hillcrest Section of the Oak Lawn Cemetery in Eastpoint, Maryland, and there is also a monument to him in Arlington National Cemetery.
