DOB/DOD: September 10, 1865 (Mount Carmel, CT) – September 16, 1929 (Jamestown, ND); 59 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Nellie B. Eaton (1879-1949).
CHILDREN: Two daughters, Helen T.E. Downs Carter (1910-1987) and Samantha H. (1921-?).
ENLISTMENT: 1898
DISCHARGE: September 25, 1899.
FAMILY: Born to Mark W. (1831-1922) and Sarah J. Alatey Downs (1829-1912). Two brothers, Walter E. (1861-1918) and John H. (1866-1912). One sister, Sarah J. (1856-1912).
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: The Philippine Insurrection
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Company H, 1st North Dakota Volunteer Infantry
DATE OF ISSUE AND PRESENTATION: February 16, 1906 (7 years later)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 34
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Private Willis H. Downs, United States Army, for most distinguished gallantry on 13 May 1899, while serving with Company H, 1st North Dakota Volunteer Infantry, in action at San Miguel de Mayumo, Luzon, Philippine Islands. With 11 other scouts, without waiting for the supporting battalion to aid them or to get into a position to do so, Private Downs charged over a distance of about 150 yards and completely routed about 300 of the enemy who were in line and in a position that could only be carried by a frontal attack.
From the Bismarck (ND) Tribune February 22, 1906
BRAVERY REWARDED BY CONGRESS
Jamestown – W.H. Downs received this morning from the War Department in Washington the Congressional Gold Medal and Medal of Honor ribbon, awarded by an Act of Congress, March 3, 1903, to each of 12 scouts for most distinguished gallantry in action at San Miguel de Mayumo, Luzon, Philippine Islands, May 13th, 1899, which resulted in the complete rout of three hundred of the enemy. On this occasion, Private Downs and eleven other scouts, without waiting for the supporting battalion to aid them or to get into a position to do so, charged over a distance of about 150 yards and completely routed about 300 of the enemy, who were in line and in a position that could only be carried by a frontal attack.
It is a handsome medal and is engraved on the back, “presented by the Congress to Willis H. Downs,” and giving the date and place of the occurrence for which it is given. Mr. Downs is naturally very proud of it.
From The Jamestown Sun October 3, 1986
CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS GRAVE UNMARKED
Nearly 400 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, including a Jamestown veteran, have unknown or improperly marked graves, according to a state AmVets official.
The stone over the grave of Medal of Honor recipient Private Willis H. Downs, Jamestown, typifies improperly marked graves, according to David Erbstoesser, 2nd Vice Commander of the North Dakota AmVets.
“Research has shown that the 400 Medal of Honor recipients are buried in unknown graves in this country,” Erbstoesser, who has been studying the history of military medals for six years, said.
Erbstoesser called LeRoy Wegenast, President of the Jamestown Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 145, and asked him to visit Highland Homes Cemetery in Jamestown Saturday to find Downs’ grave.
Wegenast and two members of the chapter board, Daryl Neumiller and Chuck Lyche, both of Jamestown, found the grave on the north side of the cemetery.
They also discovered that, besides a tarnished military emblem, the only distinction to the military-style gravestone is the letters “M.H.”
“We didn’t know what “M.H.” stood for at first,” Wegenast said. “It didn’t hold any significance for us. I expected the inscription to read ‘Medal of Honor for valor recipient,’ which would be more befitting a war hero.
“Sometimes we forget the tremendous number of veterans who served to protect our freedom and, in some instances, gave the supreme sacrifice of their lives to allow us to live in a free society,” he said.
Upon hearing of the condition of the stone, Erbstoesser said he would contact officials of the Congressional Medal of Honor Historical Society about appropriate action. Such action might include working with Jamestown veterans organization in replacing the stone with one that reads “Medal of Honor.”
Erbstoesser said he has not been able to locate any surviving relatives of Downs.
Downs was born in Mount Carmel, Connecticut, in 1843,” he said. At the age of 19, he moved to Jamestown. In 1899, he joined Company H of the First North Dakota Volunteer Infantry.
While stationed near San Miguel de Mayaomo in the Philippine Islands, Downs and 11 other soldiers, without waiting or troop or battery support, rushed 150 yards into enemy lines and routed 300 with a frontal attack.
For “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life,” Downs was presented the Medal of Honor.
He died September 15, 1929, at the age of 63, while seeking medical treatment in Grand Forks. He had been a conductor with the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Buried in Highland Home Cemetery, 3309 Highway 281 SE, Jamestown, North Dakota; Old Section, Plot D-L-19. Photo from FindAGrave.com.
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