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World War I Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Torpedoman Second Class Henry Breault USN
1900 - 1941
BREAULT, HENRY
Rank and organization: Torpedoman Second Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 14 October, 1900, Putnam, Conn. Accredited to: Vermont. G.O. No.: 125, 20 February 1924. Citation: For heroism and devotion to duty while serving on board the U.S. submarine 0-5 at the time of the sinking of that vessel. On the morning of 28 October 1923, the 0-5 collided with the steamship Abangarez and sank in less than a minute. When the collision occurred, Breault was in the torpedo room. Upon reaching the hatch, he saw that the boat was rapidly sinking. Instead of jumping overboard to save his own life, he returned to the torpedo room to the rescue of a shipmate whom he knew was trapped in the boat, closing the torpedo room hatch on himself. Breault and Brown remained trapped in this compartment until rescued by the salvage party 31 hours later. (Medal presented by President Coolidge at the White House on 8 March 1924.)
Salvage of the USS O-5 off Panama 31 hours after sinking. Breault and Brown are seen exiting the submarines forward hatch which has just slipped back under water. All but 3 of the crew were saved.
USS O-5 SS 66
On April 4, 1924 President of the United States Calvin Coolidge, presented the Congressional Medal Of Honor to Torpeomans Mate 2 Henry Breault in a ceremony on the White House lawn.
President Calvin Coolidge presented the Medal of Honor to Breault on March 8, 1924, in Washington, D.C. He received the honor for helping to save fellow crew member Lawrence Brown Oct. 28, 1923.
It was on that morning that their submarine, the O-5, was rammed by the steamship Abangarez on Limon Bay off the coast of Panama. Breault, who worked in the torpedo room, rushed on deck after the collision, but then recalled that Brown was still below sleeping.
Breault went back down through the hatch and secured it, so that water would not flood the compartment and kill Brown. The submarine sank in more than 40 feet of water, with the two men trapped inside for 31 hours in the torpedo room before two crane barges were pulled from duty at the Panama Canal to lift the submarine off the floor of the bay.
This appeared in the Dec 10th 1941
issue of the local paper in Putnam, CT
Local Man Dies at Naval Hospital
Seaman Henry Breault has Distinguished Record During 20 Years in U.S. Navy
Was Decorated For Heroism When Submarine Sank in Panama Canal
Henry, Breault, nephew of Albert J. Breault in whose honor the local V.F.W post was named, died last Thursday in the United States Naval Hospital in Newport at the age of 41. Breault had served for 20 years with the United States Navy and four years with the British Navy. And distinguished himself as a hero at the time of the sinking of the Submarine O-5 in the Panama Canal in 1923.
Breault had been suffering from a heart ailment for over a year. Although the Naval Department planned to retire him because of his health, at the Putnam mans request, he was allowed to continue on active service until he became seriously ill and was admitted to the Newport Hospital.
Born in Putnam on October 14th, 1900, he was the son of Joseph and Flora Breault. When he was 16 years old he joined the British Navy and served a term of four years and later enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served for 20 years.
When the Submarine O-5 was rammed in the Panamal Canal and sank, quick action on the part of Breault in clamping shut the hatch as the boat began to submerge saved the lives of all but three of the members of the crew.
The vessel was brought to the surface 36 hours after the accident. Breault was decorated for his valor by President Coolidge.
Besides his father, Joseph Breault of White Plains. N.Y., he is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Estelle Bickford of Riverhead, L.I. and Beatrice Breault of Yonkers, N.Y.
Funeral services were held Tuesday morning at 9:00 oclock at St. Marys Church with Rev. Chrles H. Parquette officiating. A military burial was afford Breault at the grave in St. Mary Cemetery. As the body was lowered into the grave, taps were sounded by Armand Lebeau, one of the members of the V.F.W. post. The berrers were Frank X. Vadnais, Antonio Foreier, and Fred St. Onge. Rev. John P. Wodardski officiated at the committal service.
Visit the gravesite to pay your respects
Submariners
Medal of Honor winner finally gets his plaque
World War I hero has bridge named for him, but no plaque in his honor.
By Douglas P. Guarino
Norwich Bulletin
PUTNAM -- In the town's history, there was only one soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Come November, there will finally be a plaque bearing his name.
Monday night the Board of Selectmen granted the Veterans of Foreign Wars permission to put a plaque near the Henry Breault Bridge. It also authorized the highway department to assist the VFW in digging a hole necessary for the installation of a pedestal that will support the plaque.
Both motions were approved unanimously.
"I'd like to thank the VFW for remembering our veterans," Mayor Daniel Rovero said after the vote.
VFW trustee Paul Martell said that although the bridge located near the Putnam River Trail has already been officially named after Breault, his name does not appear anywhere on it. A few weeks ago, Martell said the VFW decided that needed to change.
Martell said Breault was one of the first non-officers to be presented with the medal. A submarine sailor during World War I, he risked his life trying to save others aboard his doomed ship.
Martell said that as the sub was going down, all the sailors on board were ordered to evacuate. A few of them, however, were wounded and were unable to do so.
Those few happened to be some of Breault's friends. Rather than let them drown, he stayed with them and closed the submarine hatch from the inside.
"They were eventually rescued but he risked his life to save his fellow sailors," Martell said.
President Calvin Coolidge presented Breault with the medal at the White House April 24, 1924. Breault died in the 1940s and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery. His epitaph makes mention of the honor, Martel said.
On Veterans Day , the VFW plans to host a dedication ceremony for the new plaque. The ceremony is scheduled to start at at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, exactly 11 minutes before the armistice ending the war was signed.
Originally published Tuesday, October 7, 2003
Honor on display as sub vets visit Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
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