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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- PEOPLE -- UNITED STATES --

Ensign Tedford H. Cann, USNRR (1896-??)

Tedford H. Cann was born on 3 September 1896. He served in the Navy's Reserve Force during World War I, initially as a seaman. On 5 November 1917, while he was a member of the crew of the patrol vessel May (SP-164), Seaman Cann courageously worked in a flooded compartment, locating and closing a leak that endangered his ship. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for this act.

In April 1918, Cann was commissioned as an Ensign in the Reserve Force, continuing to serve in USS May into July. He spent the rest of World War I as an officer in USS Noma (SP-131) and apparently left the service shortly after the conflict's end.

This page features our only image of Tedford H. Cann.

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 79438 Ensign Tedford H. Cann, USNRF Halftone photo from Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy, page 114. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for "courageous conduct" while serving as a seaman on board USS May (SP-164) on 5 May 1917. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 150KB; 590 x 765 pixels

Medal of Honor citation of Seaman Tedford H. Cann (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 114): "For courageous conduct while serving on board the U.S.S. May, 5 November 1917. CANN found a leak in a flooded compartment and closed it at the peril of his life, thereby unquestionably saving the ship."

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Page made 22 January 2002