Pvt. France Silva. USMC, and other Marines and Sailors were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their service in the Boxer Rebellion.
This web site is dedicated to the memory of Pvt. Silva's service and to the memories of those Marines and Sailors who served with him during the summer of 1900, but their stories have yet to be told!
We are specifically interested in those Marines and Sailors from the USS Newark and Oregon prior to the China Relief Expedition. We hope to be able to tell their stories.
We also hope to be able to publish the photographs of each of those Marines and Sailors and maybe tell a few of their stories in order to preserve their memories.
France Silva was born on May 8, 1876, in the old town of "Haywards," (now Hayward) California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He died in Red Bluff on April 10, 1951, and is buried in Corning, CA.
November 10 is our birthday and each year on this day the Marine Corps League, Detachment 1140 - Tehama/Red Bluff - and the Tehama County Young Marines hold a memorial service at Pvt. Silva's grave site at the Sunset Hills cemetery in Corning.
One story I found in the Archives at the Gray Research center, Quantico, was from Pvt. Silva's former commanding Officer, Captain Newt Hall (who retired as a Colonel). Col. Hall wrote in his memoirs that Pvt. Silva was the "most interesting" of all his Marines at Peking.
Silva was wounded on July 1, 1900, and was taken to Sick Bay (the English Hospital in the Legation Compound) and after a few days Silva and a few others attempted to return to duty even though injured.
Pvt. Silva had been shot in the left elbow and the bullet pierced his arm and bounced off his sternum. As he returned to duty without permission Captain Hall ordered him back to sick bay. Silva refused and an argument ensued between the two Marines.
Hall told Silva he was in no shape and couldn't hold, let alone fire, his rifle. Silva told Hall that he could trade his rifle for Hall's six shot pistol, and said, "I can take care of myself." Hall complied and traded weapons. Pvt. Silva remained on duty serving his fellow Marines and other allies with the pistol while Captain Hall used Silva's rifle.
