Rufus Zenas Johnston Jr.: Medal of Honor Citation

Rank at action: Lieutenant Commander
Service: U.S. Navy
Conflict: Mexican Campaign (Vera Cruz)
Unit or command: Not documented
Presentation date: December 4, 1915

The Citation

For distinguished conduct in battle, engagement of Vera Cruz, 22 April 1914; was regimental adjutant, and eminent and conspicuous in his conduct. He exhibited courage and skill in leading his men through the action of the 22d and in the final occupation of the city.

Sources & record notes

General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.

Rufus Zenas Johnston Jr. — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-30
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison

Transcription, metadata & provenance notes

Award ID: MOH-AW-002447
Transcription status: Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check: 2026-08-30
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original): 177
Later or highest recorded rank: Rear Admiral
Accredited to: North Carolina
Archive transcription SHA-256: 050da314e75c11e9e02af96168b099b5ab187eeac2437f331185dacccc14c128

Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.

The inherited rank-1 Society candidate was confirmed by substantive comparison of identity, service, rank, unit or command, action context, and citation; candidate rank or successful rendering alone was not treated as verification. The exact current profile heading is Rufus Zenas Johnston Jr; the controlled display name is Rufus Zenas Johnston Jr., and both forms remain preserved. The current evidence expands or refines the inherited display name Rufus Zenas Johnston to Rufus Zenas Johnston Jr.; the inherited form remains preserved as a separately attributed variant. The current profile also supplies the separately retained rank rendering Lieutenant Commander (Highest Rank: Rear Admiral); action and later or highest ranks remain separately attributed. The controlled canonical unit or command is Not documented; the current structured profile renders Not documented, and the inherited wording Not documented remains preserved as a separately attributed variant. The current authoritative evidence controls the action date as 1914-04-22 and classifies the action under Mexican Campaign (Vera Cruz); the inherited unnormalized date and conflict values remain preserved in the audit record. The controlled historical action place is Vera Cruz, Mexico; the current structured place Vera Cruz, Mexico and the complete inherited geocoder value Heroica Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico remain preserved in the audit evidence. The inherited full citation remains canonical and checksum-protected; current rendered wording is preserved separately where transcribed. No underlying General Order was examined, so the exact-order gate remains pending and no General Order verification is claimed.