From Find-A-Grave.
BIRTH: 26 March 1880
DEATH: 13 April 1904 (aged 24)
BURIAL: Lakeside Cemetery, Erie Pennsylvania.
The stone inscription: "Lt. USMC. Killed by an explosion in the After Turret of the USS Missouri off Pensacola, Florida.
Until the day break and the Shadows flee away."
From Wikipedia.
The USS Missouri (BB-11) was a Maine-class battleship commissioned in 1903. On April 13, 1904, the ship suffered an accident during gunnery practice; the port 12-inch gun in her rear turret flared backwards on firing and ignited three propellant charges in the turret.
The resulting fire suffocated 36 men in the turret. Quick action by the surviving members of the turret crew prevented the fire from spreading to the magazines, which would have destroyed the ship. For their actions, three men were awarded the Medal of Honor. The Missouri returned to Newport News for repairs, which were completed by early June.
--Old B-Runner
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