He received the Medal of Honor "for gallantry in action" in signalling the gunfire support vessel Dolphin while exposed to heavy enemy fire at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on June 14, 1898.

During the morning of June 14, 1898, Companies "C" and "D" of Lt. Col Robert W. Huntington's Marine Battalion and approximately fifty Cubans moved through the hills to seize Cuzco Well, the main water supply for the Spanish garrison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The USS Dolphin (PG-24) moved east along the shore ready to furnish naval gunfire support upon call.

The Marines and Cubans occupied the hill which overlooked the enemy's position, but were immediately subjected to heavy long-range rifle fire.

To deliberately stand up and turn your back to a battle and hear immediate evidences of the boundless enthusiasm with which a large company of the enemy shoot at you from an adjacent thicket is, to my mind at least, a very great feat.

As he swung his clumsy flag to and fro, an end of it once caught on a cactus pillar, and he looked sharply over his shoulder to see what had it.

During the Veracruz Campaign of 1914, Quick was again cited for valor during the assault of that city, for which the Secretary of the Navy commendation says of his performance: He was continually exposed to fire during the first two days of the operation and showed coolness, bravery, and judgment in the prompt manner in which he performed his duties.Quick sailed to France as one of the Battalion Sergeants Major of the 6th Marine Regiment in 1917.

He earned these decorations on June 6, 1918, when "he volunteered and assisted in taking a truckload of ammunition and material into Bouresches, France, over a road swept by artillery and machine-gun fire, thereby relieving a critical situation."

[3]Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Sergeant Major John Henry Quick (MCSN: 68644), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the Headquarters Company, 6th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F.

Sergeant Major Quick volunteered and assisted in taking a truck load of ammunition and material into Bouresches, France, over a road swept by artillery and machine-gun fire, thereby relieving a critical situation.

[4]Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Sergeant Major John Henry Quick (MCSN: 68644), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the Headquarters Company, Sixth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., in action at Bouresches, France, 6 June 1918.

Sergeant Major Quick volunteered and assisted in taking a truck load of ammunition and material into Bouresches, France, over a road swept by artillery and machine-gun fire, thereby relieving a critical situation.

[4]In addition to his military medals the United States Navy named a Gleaves-class destroyer USS Quick in his honor.