b. 24/12/1870 Austro-Hungary. d. 05/03/1910 ?
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 21/07/1905 San Diego Harbour, California, on board USS Bennington.
Grbitch was born December 24, 1870, in Austria-Hungary and joined the Navy from Ohio. He was a Serb from Dalmatia. On July 21, 1905, a boiler exploded aboard the USS Bennington (PG-4) while it was at San Diego, California and sank. During the explosion 66 sailors were killed and almost everyone else on the ship was injured. For his actions during the explosion he received the Medal of Honor January 5, 1906. He received his Medal of Honor on the deck of USS Chicago, in San Diego Harbour on April 15, 1906. He died just four years later and was buried in San Francisco National Cemetery.
MOH CITATION:
On board the U.S.S. Bennington, for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Cal., 21 July 1905.
BURIAL LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO NATIONAL CEMETERY, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.
SECTION A GRAVE 44.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
