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Pearl Harbor Men of Honor |
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Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients
Colonel Charles A. Jones was a lawyer in the Marine Corps from 1981-92 and has been a drilling reservist in the Marine Corps Reserve since 1993. He is a writer living in Norfolk, VA. He became interested in the 7 December 1941 Medal of Honor recipients while on active duty for seven months on Oahu in 1999. He is grateful to James Cheevers of the Naval Academy Museum for providing Lucky Bag information used in this article.
United States Naval Academy Graduates
at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941
NAME CLASS YEAR NICKNAME GRADE SHIP FATE ON 7 DECEMBER
Isaac Kidd 1906 Cap Rear Admiral Arizona Killed in action
Franklin Van Valkenburgh 1909 Van; Dutch captain Arizona Killed in action
Mervyn Bennion 1910 Mary captain West Virginia Died of wounds
Cassin Young 1916 Cy; Ted commander Vestal Survived; KIA 13 Nov 42
Samuel Fuqua 1923 Ben lieutenant commander Arizona Survived; died 27 Jan 87
History Of The Medal Of Honor
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating the Medal of Honor. The law authorized Medals of Honor for enlisted Sailors and Marines who exhibited "gallantry in action" during the Civil War. Gradually, changes to the law expanded eligibility to all membersofficers and enlistedof all services. The general rule became this: the President, in the name of Congress, could present a MOH to any person who distinguished himself by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. The rules can be found in statutes in United States Code and in regulations for the different branches of service. Those with the MOH are properly called Medal of Honor "recipients," not "winners," which implies some type of contest where one "wins" the nations highest combat award.
Citations and more information are in the book United States of Americas Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and Their Official Citations, Highland House II, Inc., 646 Sullivan Lane, Columbia Heights, MN 55421 (1998) or at the Congressional Medal of Honor Homepage.
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Articles & Briefings
