1920. However, on 15 March 1920 he was charged for falsehood and attempting to obtain money under false pretenses and the Commanding Officer ordered the dishonorable discharge of his second enlistment. Prior to his court-martial Siegel underwent a mental evaluation during which he stated he had been worried and exceedingly nervous for several months prior to his nomination for the Medal of Honor. He had been worried over domestic affairs and depressed after recently learning that he was adopted. However he was found fit for trial. Medal of Honor citation Rank and organization: Boatswain's Mate Second Class, United States Navy. Citation: For extraordinary heroism while serving on board the Mohawk in performing a rescue mission aboard the schooner Hjeltenaes which was in flames on 1 November 1918. Going aboard the blazing vessel, Siegel rescued 2 men from the crew's quarters and went back the third time. Immediately after he had entered the crew's quarters, a steam pipe over the door bursted, making it impossible for him to escape. Siegel was overcome with smoke and fell to the deck, being finally rescued by some of the crew of the Mohawk who carried him out and rendered first aid. Medal Inscription Later life By 1920, after Siegel received a "less than honorable" discharge from the Navy, he continued to work as a driver. Later, it is believed Siegel worked as an ironworker on the Brooklyn Bridge or simply a bridge in Brooklyn, according to family. In May 1929 Siegel wrote to the Navy and requested they give him a 3rd enlistment. He was unsuccessful in his plea. He was living at the Hotel Delaware in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Around 1930, Siegel abandoned his wife and daughter and headed to Oklahoma to work in the oil fields. They never divorced and he started a new life, never having any contact with them again. In 1935, Siegel is found to be in Lavagas (believing it to be Las Vegas) per the 1940 Census records, and in 1940, Siegel is found in Baltimore, Maryland, working as a lineman in a shipyard and living with his second wife, 20 years his younger, Mary Lou Siegel from Henryetta, Oklahoma. On 28 May 1935, the New York chapter of the Red Cross wrote a letter on behalf of John Otto Siegel to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, Washington D.C. requesting a duplicate Medal of Honor be issued. The