On this day in 1941, the Japanese attacked the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor
On this day in 1941, the Japanese attacked the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and launched the U.S. into the Second World War. Today we would like to share one story from that day. Ensign Francis Flaherty of Charlotte, Michigan joined the Naval Reserve as an Ensign after attending the University of Michigan. Flaherty was stationed on board the U.S.S. Oklahoma in the early 1940s. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S.S. Oklahoma took roughly nine hits from torpedoes dropped by the Japanese Zeros. During this time, Flaherty and some of his fellow naval personnel were trapped inside a gun turret without any light. As the ship was capsizing, and fast, Flaherty held a flashlight at the exit and directed the other men towards it. While the water was rising to the point where Flaherty was knee deep in it, he continued to direct the men. That was the last time anyone saw him. Over the next few days, thirty two men were saved from the ship, but Flaherty was one of the 429 that gave the ultimate sacrifice. He gave his life that day so that many other men could live. He was only 22 years old.
For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Franklin Roosevelt. 13 Medals of Honor were bestowed upon Michiganders, but Flaherty was the first to receive one.
In 1943, the ship was recovered and the bodies of those who were killed (including Flaherty’s) were placed in a mass graves marked “unknowns” at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His remains were finally identified in 2019, and he was laid to rest on August 21, 2021 in Charlotte. Numerous honors have been given to Flaherty. The U.S.S. Flaherty was an Edsall-Class Destroyer Escort that was built in 1942 and decommissioned in 1946. It was composed of eight officers and 201 enlisted men. While in the North Atlantic, it sunk one U-Boat and captured another.
We are honored to have Ensign Flaherty’s medals (including his Medal of Honor) on display in our Medal of Honor gallery. It is important to Honor, Respect and Remember this brave man and the countless others who gave their life that day.