Congressional Medal of Honor Society
Stories of Sacrifice
World War II - U.S. Navy
Thomas James Reeves
Details
- Rank: Radio Electrician (Warrant Officer 1)
- Conflict/Era: World War II
- Unit/Command:
U.S.S. California - 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 distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage, and disregard of his own safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. After the mechanized ammunition hoists were put out of action on the U.S.S. California, Reeves, on his own initiative, in a burning passageway, assisted in the maintenance of an ammunition supply by hand to the antiaircraft guns until he was overcome by smoke and fire, which resulted in his death.
Additional Details
- Accredited to: Connecticut
- Awarded Posthumously: Yes
- Presentation Date & Details: March 1942
Medal of Honor mailed to his brother's home in Thomaston, CT, by Secretary of the Navy William F. Knox.
- Born: December 9, 1895, Thomaston, Litchfield County, CT, United States
- Died: December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Territory)
- Buried: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) (MH) (A-884), Honolulu, HI; St. Thomas Cemetery (IMO marker), Thomaston, CT, United States