“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941.
74 years ago, America was thrust into World War II by the attack on Pearl Harbor. 2,403 American servicemen and 68 civilians were killed, and 1,213 people were wounded. Almost 350 aircraft were destroyed or damaged in that attack. Two battleships, USS Arizona (BB 39) and USS Oklahoma (BB 37) were total losses. USS California (BB 44) and USS West Virginia (BB 48) would be out of action until 1944. Four other damaged battleships USS Pennsylvania (BB 38), USS Nevada (BB 36), USS Tennessee (BB 43) and USS Maryland (BB 46) were all back in action by the end of 1942.
Fifteen servicemen were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the attack, ten of whom made the ultimate sacrifice. Two of those who received the award posthumously, Francis C. Flaherty and James Richard Ward, were honored for remaining in a turret as the Oklahoma was capsizing, enabling their shipmates to escape and survive.
Mervyn Sharp Bennion, the CO of USS West Virginia, came from Utah, where some of his ancestors had been among the Mormon pioneers who fled religious persecution in the 1840s. His brother had gone to West Point, but Bennion would graduate from the Naval Academy in 1910. When he was badly wounded, he refused to be evacuated from his battle station, directing Doris Miller, among others, to keep fighting back against the sneak attack that had struck his ship with no fewer than seven torpedoes and two bombs.
Peter Tomich would also be awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. Born in Austria as Petar Herceg Tonić, he had immigrated to the United States and joined the Navy, eventually becoming a Chief Petty Officer serving in the boiler rooms of USS Utah (AG 16). When the Utah was hit by two torpedoes by Japanese planes, and began to capsize, Tomich remained at his post, allowing fellow sailors to escape and keeping the machinery going as long as possible. But it would take over six decades until some of Tomich’s relatives were located in Croatia, and Tomich’s award would be presented on board USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in 2006.
USS California would see four men earn the Medal of Honor: Ensign Herbert C. Jones, who ordered shipmates to leave him behind when he was severely wounded and a fire raged nearby; Jackson C. Pharris, who repeatedly entered a danger zone to rescue fellow sailors; Thomas J. Reeves, who kept passing ammunition to the guns until he was overcome by smoke and fire; and Robert R. Scott, who stayed at his station despite severe flooding. Scott’s last words were, “This is my station and I will stay and give them air as long as the guns are going.”
USS Arizona saw three men, Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, Captain William Van Valkenburgh, and Lieutenant Commander Samuel Fuqua, receive the nation’s highest award for valor in combat, but only Fuqua was alive to receive it. On USS Nevada, Edwin J. Hill would be posthumously recognized for actions that made that ship’s desperate dash for the Pacific possible, while Donald K. Ross would remain at his post until overcome by fumes, then after being revived, he would return and stay there despite falling unconscious again. Ross returned to his post a second time, and remained there until he was ordered to evacuate.
John W. Finn would receive the Medal of Honor for continuing to fight the attack, even though he had been wounded 21 times. Cassin Young, the commanding officer of USS Vestal (AR 7), was awarded the Medal of Honor after he swan back to his ship after being blown overboard by the explosion that destroyed USS Arizona, and would move the Vestal away from the inferno and eventually beach it to ensure that it would be able to return to service. Just over eleven months later, Young would posthumously earn the Navy Cross for his actions while commanding USS San Francisco (CA 38) off Guadalcanal.
Those were not the only instances of valor awarded – 117 other valor awards, ranging from the Bronze Star to the Navy Cross, were presented to American servicemen for actions on that day of infamy. During one of America’s worst days, those heroes displayed the best qualities of American servicemen.