Congressional Medal of Honor Society
Stories of Sacrifice
World War II - U.S. Navy
Franklin van Valkenburgh
Details
- Rank: Captain
- Conflict/Era: World War II
- Unit/Command:
U.S.S. Arizona - Military Service Branch: U.S. Navy
- Medal of Honor Action Date: December 7, 1941
- Medal of Honor Action Place: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, USA
Citation
For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. As commanding officer of the U.S.S. Arizona, Capt. Van Valkenburgh gallantly fought his ship until the U.S.S. Arizona blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge which resulted in the loss of his life.
Additional Details
- Accredited to: Wisconsin
- Awarded Posthumously: Yes
- Born: April 5, 1888, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN, United States
- Died: December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Territory)
- Buried: Remains not recovered from USS Arizona; National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl)(Wall of the Missing), Honolulu, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, HI, United States
Photo Gallery
