Фред Уильям Стокхам: Батырлық ерлігі үшін марапатталған теңізші сарбаз

United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient

Fred William Stockham (March 16, 1881 in Detroit – June 22, 1918 in France) was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his self sacrificial valor during the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I.

Stockham was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 16, 1881. His mother died and his father traveled to New Jersey where he left the young child to be raised by a foster mother, Sophie Heinz in Newark. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on July 16, 1903, and, over the next four years, served twice in the Philippines, from September 26, 1903, to August 28, 1905, and from September 29, 1906, to January 13, 1907, and did one tour of duty in China in the intervening period. Private Stockham was honorably discharged at New York City on July 15, 1907. He moved to Belleville, New Jersey and served as a fireman in the area. Five years later, on May 31, 1912, he reenlisted in the Marine Corps.

By the time he was again discharged, on May 30, 1916, he had risen to the rank of sergeant and had served most of his term ashore in Nicaragua. Sgt. Stockham saw combat during the engagement at León, Nicaragua, on October 6, 1915, a little over a month before his departure from that troubled Latin American nation. He was honorably discharged again on May 30, 1916, this time at Mare Island, Calif. However, within a week, he had returned to New York City, where on June 7, he reenlisted. By February 8, 1918, Sgt. Stockham was in France and heading for the trenches. Between that time and his death, he served in the Toulon sector, in the Aisne operation, and at Belleau Wood. During the last named battle, Gunnery Sergeant Stockham displayed the "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty" which later earned him the Medal of Honor in 1939 after the statute of limitations was waived by a joint resolution. Gy. Sgt. Stockham died in France on June 22, 1918. Thanks to the efforts of his former Lt. Clifton Cates (who would eventually become Marine Corps Commandant) and comrades, one of whom was the man whose life his gas mask saved, Barak Mattingly, Gy. Sgt. Stockham was belatedly and posthumously authorized the Medal of Honor by an joint resolution that waived the statute of limitations, passed on July 15, 1939, over 20 years after his sacrifice.

In 1943, the destroyer Stockham was named for Gy. Sgt. Fred W. Stockham, USMC. In 2001, the container & roll on/roll off ship USNS Soderman (T AKR 299) was renamed As of 2016, she is still in service.