ORNDORF, HARRY WESTLEY (9 Nov. 1892-14 July 1938), recipent of the Congressional Medal of Honor for service during the Boxer Rebellion, was born in Sandusky, Ohio the son of John and Julia Clark Orndorf. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. 17 Oct. 1896 at Mare Island, California. After serving in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War and the Insurrection which followed, Private Orndorf was assigned to the USS Newark, operating off the China coast between May and August of 1900. The Newark, part of an international relief expedition, helped put down the Boxers, a secret Chinese society angered by foreign commercial exploitation, and rescued personnel in U. S. legations in Peiking and Tientsen. Orndorf was wounded 23 June and received a medical discharge 21 Jan. 1901. On 19 July 1901, he was one of three marines receiving the Medal of Honor for heroism "In action with the..Allied forces in China 13, 20, 21, and 22 June 1900." Orndorf married Louise E. Touhey in Cleveland 23 May 1906. After working as a machinist for some time, he opened his own company, Emergency Road Service, Inc., operating it for many years. During the last five years of his life, he and his wife owned and operated Orndorf's Cafe in Lakewood. He died at U. S. MARINE HOSPITAL and was buried 16 July 1938 at Highland Park Cemetery in Cleveland. The couple had no children.
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