branch birth_place allegiance unit awards placeofburial_label birth_date rank article_title name
united states navy russia united states of america trenton 1876 6 medal of honor place of burial 1847 seaman alexander haure turvelin
 alexander haure turvelin
alexander haure turvelin

alexander haure turvelin -lrb- born 1847 , date of death unknown -rrb- was a united states navy sailor and a recipient of the united states military 's highest decoration , the medal of honor .
born in 1847 in russia , turvelin immigrated to the united states and by february 1881 was serving as a seaman on the .
sometime during that month , while `` trenton '' was at toulon , france , coxswain augustus ohlensen fell overboard and , because he could not swim , began to sink .
turvelin and another sailor , ordinary seaman john davis , jumped into the water and rescued ohlensen from drowning .
for this action , both he and davis were awarded the medal of honor three and a half years later , on october 18 , 1884 .
turvelin 's official medal of honor citation reads : for jumping overboard from the u.s.s. `` trenton '' , at toulon , france , february 1881 , and rescuing from drowning augustus ohlensen , coxswain .
