Pearl Harbor's Medal of Honor Recipients page 1

Recipients of the Medal of Honor
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MERVYN SHARP BENNION *
May 5, 1887 - December 7, 1941

Rank and organization: Captain, U. S. Navy
Appointed from: Utah
Years of service: 1910-1941
Commanded: USS West Virginia
Died: killed during attack on Pearl Harbor
Awards: Medal of Honor, Awarded Posthumously

Mervyn Sharp Bennion (5 May 1887 – 7 December 1941) was an officer in the United States Navy who died during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Born in Vernon, Utah on 5 May 1887, Bennion graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1910. An ordnance specialist, Captain Bennion was killed in action during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, while in command of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48). Captain Bennion was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor citation: For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. As Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. West Virginia, after being mortally wounded, Capt. Bennion evidenced apparent concern only in fighting and saving his ship, and strongly protested against being carried from the bridge.
Captain Bennion was disembowelled by shrapnel from a bomb that blew up part of his command deck. Using one arm to hold his wounds closed, he bled to death while still commanding his crew. His actions saved the West Virginia from sinking and earned him the Medal of Honor.
Other Posthumous Honor: In 1943, the destroyer, USS Bennion (DD-662) was named in his honor.

John W. Finn wearing his
Medal of Honor

JOHN WILLIAM FINN
July 23, 1909 -

Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy
Entered service at: California.
Years of service: 1926-1956
Awards: Medal of Honor
Place and date: Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Territory of Hawaii, 7 December 1941

Lieutenant John William Finn, born July 23, 1909 in Los Angeles, California, is a retired officer of the United States Navy who was awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of heroism and distinguished service during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Finn enlisted in the Navy in July 1926, and was stationed as a Chief Petty Officer at the Naval Air Station at Kāne'ohe Bay in Oʻahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands. During the first attack by the Japanese aircraft, Finn took control of a machine gun post and continued to fire on the attacking planes despite being hit five times by enemy strafing fire. Following that incident, he was awarded the Medal of Honour for heroism.
Medal of Honor citation: "For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lieutenant Finn promptly secured and manned a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention. Following first-aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
During World War II, Finn served as an Ensign and eventually a Lieutenant with the Bombing Squadron VB-102 on board the USS Hancock (CV-19). He retired from the Navy in September 1956.
Today {after 1998} he lives in California by himself (his wife Alice died in 1998). He is the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the attack on Pearl Harbor. LT Finn is the oldest living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
For more on John William Finn: <http://www.geocities.com/ntchistory/finn/finn.html>

	FRANCIS CHARLES FLAHERTY * 15 March 1919 - 7 December 1941 Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve. Entered the service from Michigan. Years of service: 1940 - 1941 Awards: Medal of Honor, Awarded Posthumously
Francis Charles Flaherty (15 March 1919 – 7 December 1941), was an officer in the United States Naval Reserve and a recipient of America's highest military decoration - the Medal of Honor. He received the Medal for helping his crewmates escape the sinking USS Oklahoma at the expense of his own life, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Francis Flaherty was born on 15 March 1919 in Charlotte, Michigan. He was a parishioner at St. Mary's Catholic Church while living in Charlotte. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in July 1940 and was commissioned as an Ensign in December of that year. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Flaherty was serving on board the USS Oklahoma. The Oklahoma was based at Pearl Harbor for patrols and exercises, and was moored in Battleship Row when the attack began. Almost immediately after the first Japanese bombs fell, the ship was hit by three torpedoes and began to capsize. Those who could began to abandon ship as more torpedoes struck home. Ensign Flaherty remained in one of the ship's turrets, providing light so that the turret crew could escape. When the Oklahoma rolled completely over, he was trapped inside the hull along with many others. Thirty-two crewmembers of the Oklahoma were rescued from inside the hull over the next few days, but Ensign Flaherty was not among them. Medal of Honor citation: "For conspicuous devotion to duty and extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. When it was seen that the U.S.S. Oklahoma was going to capsize and the order was given to abandon ship, Ens. Flaherty remained in a turret, holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life. Over all, 429 men were entombed in the Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, including Flaherty. The ship was raised for salvage in 1943, and the remains inside were eventually interred in mass graves marked "Unknowns" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. Flaherty's name is inscribed in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and a memorial headstone was placed in Maple Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Charlotte, Michigan. Other Posthumous Honors: The destroyer escort USS Flaherty (DE-135), commissioned in 1943 and decommissioned in 1946, was named in honor of Ensign Flaherty; American Legion Post 42 (Greenawalt-Flaherty) in Charlotte, Michigan is partially named after Ensign Flaherty.
Stone for Francis Flaherty (1919 - 1941), Maple Hill Cemetery, Charlotte, Eaton County, Michigan, Plot: Section 3.	Ens. Francis C Flaherty ( - 1941), National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu ABMC Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii

Sources:
Naval Historical Center <http://www.history.navy.mil/index.html>
Medal of Honor Citations <http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/moh1.htm>
Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>