Fireman 1st USN
USS Winslow
Spanish American War∼Killed in action on the Torpedo Boat, Winslow. The first to be killed in service of the US in the war with Spain.
Medina County Gazette Oct. 9,'72:
The first American-born serviceman to be killed in the Spanish American War was George Burton Meek, born near Clyde, some six miles from where his body now rests before an imposing statue in the middle of the historic cemetery. The son of John and Hattie Meek, ( Hattie was d/o Denton Deyo), the young sailor was educated at Mayville School in Townsend Twp. A stationary engineer before going into the navy, he soon was advanced to Fireman, First Class. He was aboard the Torpedo boat Winslow, as the ship entered Cienfuegos Harbor to entice a Spanish ship from her berth. When the American ship was within 1,000 yards, Spanish shore batteries opened fire, several of the shells hitting the mark. The Winslow took a shell in the mail boiler that warm May morning in 1898, and had to be towed away by another ship. The wounded and dead were taken to Key West, where the five dead were buried near the victims of the battleship Maine. Meek was the first killed trying to keep the Winslow afloat. his body was transferred to Clyde in 1899. The Meek statue in McPherson Cemetery was dedicated on May 11, 1916.
The McPherson Statue was unveiled on July 22, 1881 and a plaque added to the base in 1912.
~ ken striker
USS Winslow
Spanish American War∼Killed in action on the Torpedo Boat, Winslow. The first to be killed in service of the US in the war with Spain.
Medina County Gazette Oct. 9,'72:
The first American-born serviceman to be killed in the Spanish American War was George Burton Meek, born near Clyde, some six miles from where his body now rests before an imposing statue in the middle of the historic cemetery. The son of John and Hattie Meek, ( Hattie was d/o Denton Deyo), the young sailor was educated at Mayville School in Townsend Twp. A stationary engineer before going into the navy, he soon was advanced to Fireman, First Class. He was aboard the Torpedo boat Winslow, as the ship entered Cienfuegos Harbor to entice a Spanish ship from her berth. When the American ship was within 1,000 yards, Spanish shore batteries opened fire, several of the shells hitting the mark. The Winslow took a shell in the mail boiler that warm May morning in 1898, and had to be towed away by another ship. The wounded and dead were taken to Key West, where the five dead were buried near the victims of the battleship Maine. Meek was the first killed trying to keep the Winslow afloat. his body was transferred to Clyde in 1899. The Meek statue in McPherson Cemetery was dedicated on May 11, 1916.
The McPherson Statue was unveiled on July 22, 1881 and a plaque added to the base in 1912.
~ ken striker
Fireman 1st USN
USS Winslow
Spanish American War∼Killed in action on the Torpedo Boat, Winslow. The first to be killed in service of the US in the war with Spain.
Medina County Gazette Oct. 9,'72:
The first American-born serviceman to be killed in the Spanish American War was George Burton Meek, born near Clyde, some six miles from where his body now rests before an imposing statue in the middle of the historic cemetery. The son of John and Hattie Meek, ( Hattie was d/o Denton Deyo), the young sailor was educated at Mayville School in Townsend Twp. A stationary engineer before going into the navy, he soon was advanced to Fireman, First Class. He was aboard the Torpedo boat Winslow, as the ship entered Cienfuegos Harbor to entice a Spanish ship from her berth. When the American ship was within 1,000 yards, Spanish shore batteries opened fire, several of the shells hitting the mark. The Winslow took a shell in the mail boiler that warm May morning in 1898, and had to be towed away by another ship. The wounded and dead were taken to Key West, where the five dead were buried near the victims of the battleship Maine. Meek was the first killed trying to keep the Winslow afloat. his body was transferred to Clyde in 1899. The Meek statue in McPherson Cemetery was dedicated on May 11, 1916.
The McPherson Statue was unveiled on July 22, 1881 and a plaque added to the base in 1912.
~ ken striker
USS Winslow
Spanish American War∼Killed in action on the Torpedo Boat, Winslow. The first to be killed in service of the US in the war with Spain.
Medina County Gazette Oct. 9,'72:
The first American-born serviceman to be killed in the Spanish American War was George Burton Meek, born near Clyde, some six miles from where his body now rests before an imposing statue in the middle of the historic cemetery. The son of John and Hattie Meek, ( Hattie was d/o Denton Deyo), the young sailor was educated at Mayville School in Townsend Twp. A stationary engineer before going into the navy, he soon was advanced to Fireman, First Class. He was aboard the Torpedo boat Winslow, as the ship entered Cienfuegos Harbor to entice a Spanish ship from her berth. When the American ship was within 1,000 yards, Spanish shore batteries opened fire, several of the shells hitting the mark. The Winslow took a shell in the mail boiler that warm May morning in 1898, and had to be towed away by another ship. The wounded and dead were taken to Key West, where the five dead were buried near the victims of the battleship Maine. Meek was the first killed trying to keep the Winslow afloat. his body was transferred to Clyde in 1899. The Meek statue in McPherson Cemetery was dedicated on May 11, 1916.
The McPherson Statue was unveiled on July 22, 1881 and a plaque added to the base in 1912.
~ ken striker
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