France L Silva

France was born on the 8th of May 1876, in Hayward, California, and at the age of 23, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps. After attending boot camp at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, he was assigned to the USS Newark, where he became friends with Daniel Daly. Daniel would later become one of the nineteen service members to receive the Medal of Honor twice and I covered his story on episodes 129 and 238 of this podcast. The USS Newark was enroute to the Philippines to take part in the Spanish-American War when it was rerouted to Japan to prepare for the conflict in China. France arrived on the Newark on the 22nd of May 1900, and it was his actions as a Private with the Legation Guards that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

In the presence of the enemy during the action at Peking, China, 28 June to 17 August 1900. Throughout this period, Silva distinguished himself by meritorious conduct.

France received the Medal of Honor the following year and he returned to California after his time in the Marine Corps. He was married three times: first to Arilla Hendricks Troutman in 1928, second to Harriet Masecar, and third to Laura Kitts. I found no record of children with any of his wives. France L Silva died on the 10th of April 1951, at the age of 74 and he is buried in the Sunset Hill Cemetery in Corning, California: Section E, Block 3, Lot A, Space 10.