Francis C. Flaherty’s Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

ENSIGN

FRANCIS CHARLES FLAHERTY

NAVAL RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

For The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Ensign Francis Charles Flaherty, United States Naval Reserve, 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, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. When it was seen that the U.S.S. OKLAHOMA (BB-37) was going to capsize and the order was given to abandon ship, Ensign Flaherty remained in a turret, holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.

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Born: 15 March 1919 in Charlotte, Mich…. Was one of 429 crewmen entombed inside the battleship until its raising in 1943… Flaherty’s remains were buried along with the other unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu… Namesake of USS Flaherty (DE-135)… Accounted for in September 2019