Albert David Albert Leroy David ( July 18 , 1902 – September 17 , 1945 ) was an officer in the United States Navy during World War II and a recipient of the Medal of Honor . He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his role in helping to capture , off the coast of French West Africa in June 1944 . Early life and career . Born in Maryville , Missouri David enlisted in the Navy at Kansas City , Missouri , on September 30 , 1919 . After undergoing his training at the Naval Training Station , San Francisco , he served on the battleship for the rest of his first enlistment . Reenlisting at Omaha , Nebraska , on July 19 , 1921 , David served his second enlistment in a succession of ships : , , , , and , reenlisting on board " Texas " on May 12 , 1925 . He then served in , , and , reenlisting at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania on June 15 , 1931 . He reported on board on July 3 , 1931 , and served in that destroyer tender until his transfer to the Fleet Reserve on August 10 , 1939 . World War II . David was recalled to active duty , though , on September 27 , 1939 , less than a month after World War II broke out in Europe with the German invasion of Poland . Appointed machinist on May 13 , 1942 , David was assigned to the Submarine Repair Unit , San Diego on May 28 , and served in that unit for five months . While there , he received his promotion to ensign on June 15 . Reporting thence to the Naval Training School for diesel engineers at the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin , for instruction , David ultimately reported for duty at the Naval Training Station , Naval Operating Base , Norfolk , before he traveled to Orange , Texas to assist in fitting out the destroyer escort , which was commissioned at the Consolidated Steel Corporation yard on June 7 , 1943 . Promoted to lieutenant ( jg . ) while " Pillsbury " was fitting out , David served in that ship as she operated in the Atlantic , escorting convoys into Casablanca and Gibraltar , and serving with a " hunter - killer " unit formed around . He was serving as Pillsbury ' s assistant engineering and electrical officer when " Guadalcanal " s task group located a German submarine off Cape Blanco , French West Africa , on June 4 , 1944 and forced it to the surface . " Pillsbury " lowered a boat and sent a party of nine men , led by David , to board the U - boat , soon identified as " U - 505 " , which was still underway and running in a circle on the surface . Although he " had every reason to believe " ( Verified in “ Attack and Capture : The Story of U - Boat 505 ” by Discovery Channel ) that Germans were still below decks setting demolition charges and scuttling the ship , David led " Pillsbury " s men on board and down the conning tower hatch , and took possession of the ship . Although he found the sea flooding into the U - boat , David remained below directing the initial salvage operations — aware that at any moment the submersible could blow up or sink . Men from " Guadalcanal " arrived soon thereafter to aid in the battle to keep " U - 505 " afloat , and David remained on board directing the salvage operations . As a result of his vigorous and heroic efforts , the valuable prize was eventually taken to Bermuda . Promoted to lieutenant soon thereafter , David received the Medal of Honor for his part in the " first successful boarding and capture of an enemy man - of - war on the high seas by the United States Navy since 1815 . " He died of a heart attack at Norfolk , Virginia , however , before the medal could be presented to him ; it was presented by President Harry S . Truman to David ' s widow , Lynda Mae David , on October 5 , 1945 , in a ceremony at the White House . Medal of Honor citation . His Medal of Honor citation reads : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while attached to the U . S . S . Pillsbury during the capture of an enemy German submarine off French West Africa , June 4 , 1944 . Taking a vigorous part in the skillfully coordinated attack on the U - 505 at the end of a prolonged search by the Task Group , Lt . ( then Lt . j . g . ) David boldly led a party from the Pillsbury in boarding the hostile submarine as it circled erratically at 5 or 6 knots on the surface . Fully aware that the U - boat might at any moment sink or be blown up by exploding demolition and scuttling charges , he braved the added danger of enemy gunfire to plunge through the conning tower hatch and , with his small party , exerted every effort to keep the ship afloat and to assist the succeeding and more fully equipped salvage parties in making the U - 505 seaworthy for the long tow across the Atlantic to a U . S . port . By his valiant service during the first successful boarding and capture of an enemy man - of - war on the high seas by the United States Navy since 1815 , Lt . David contributed materially to the effectiveness of the Battle of the Atlantic and upheld the highest traditions of the U . S . Naval Service .