David Ephraim Hayden was born on 2 October 1897 in Florence, Texas. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy from that state and received training at San Diego Naval Base, California and at Quantico, Virginia. During World War I, he served in France with the Second Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment as a Hospital Apprentice First Class. On 15 September 1918, when a Marine was mortally wounded in the battle of St. Mihiel, Hayden ran across the open battlefield to administer assistance. Amidst machine-gun fire, he dressed the Marine's severe wounds and carried him to safety. For his "gallantry and intrepidity" during this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Following the war, Hayden was advanced to the rank of Pharmacist's Mate Third Class. For the rest of his enlistment, he served on board the troop transport Princess Matoika and at the Norfolk Naval Hospital, Virginia. Leaving the Navy in the Summer of 1920, he later served as an U.S. Marshall in California until he retired at the age of seventy. David E. Hayden died on 18 March 1974 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.
This page features the only image we have concerning David E. Hayden.
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Medal of Honor citation of Hospital Apprentice First Class David E. Hayden (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 117): |
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Page made 19 November 2007
Edited and reposted 11 April 2008