Wednesday Hero: Cpt. Joseph O’Callahan

Feb 22

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Author and mother of an Army Sergeant and Navy Lt. Commander presents a series of gallant history…

USNA or Bust!

Cpt. Joseph O’Callahan
58 years old from Worcester, Mass
Naval Reserve Chaplain Corps, USS Franklin
May 14, 1905 – March 18, 1964

From Cpt. O’Callahan’s Medal Of Honor citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as chaplain on board the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy Japanese aircraft during offensive operations near Kobe, Japan, on 19 March 1945. A valiant and forceful leader, calmly braving the perilous barriers of flame and twisted metal to aid his men and his ship, Lt. Comdr. O’Callahan groped his way through smoke-filled corridors to the shells, rockets, and other armament. With the ship rocked by incessant explosions, with debris and fragments raining down and fires raging in ever-increasing fury, he ministered to the wounded and dying, comforting and encouraging men of all faiths; he organized and…

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About GP

Everett Smith served with the Headquarters Company, 187th Regiment, 11th A/B Division during WWII. This site is in tribute to my father, "Smitty." GP is a member of the 11th Airborne Association. Member # 4511 and extremely proud of that fact!

Posted on February 22, 2021, in Uncategorized, WWII and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 57 Comments.

  1. markbierman | February 24, 2021 at 6:42 PM

    A great post about a selfless and heroic man. Thank you for sharing this.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  3. shoreacres | February 23, 2021 at 9:33 PM

    I enjoyed reading the entire piece, and thank you for directing us to Jacqui’s site. Of course I’ve seen her comments here, but I’d never visited. I’m glad I did — not only because of this post, but also because of what I read in her sidebar about her encouragement of our youth.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  5. Eternity | February 23, 2021 at 7:50 PM

    Thanks for all that you do with your blog work; it is all very meaningful.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  6. OIKOS™-Editorial | February 23, 2021 at 2:50 PM

    Thank yoiu for remembering another hero, GP! Nice to see he was member of my favorite adored order, the Jesuits. 😉 Will head over to read more! Michael

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  7. the greatvincent | February 23, 2021 at 1:48 PM

    Well…this is real life events so brave of you Cpt.Joseph sad memories thanks for sharing

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  8. derrickjknight | February 23, 2021 at 5:39 AM

    He deserved a longer life. A good piece of hosting.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  9. jfwknifton | February 23, 2021 at 3:14 AM

    A real 100% hero and a nice contrast with at least one of the British Army padres who was famous for waving off WW1 soldiers just before they went “over the top” out of their trenches to cross no-man’s-land under heavy fire and attack the German lines. He wished them all the best with the cheery words “Don’t worry lads!! I’ll be here to see you when you get back”.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  11. It ain't what it ain't | February 22, 2021 at 4:50 PM

    That generation lived there lives so much more honest than my generation.

    Like

    Reply
  12. doesitevenmatter3 | February 22, 2021 at 4:15 PM

    Oh, I got teary-eyed reading this! Thank you for sharing Cpt. Joseph O’Callahan with us! I join everyone in honoring him and thanking him! As I go through each new day, I will think of him and I know it will give me inspiration and courage.
    (((HUGS))) 🙂
    PS…How are you doing?

    Like

    Reply
  13. Philip Edwards | February 22, 2021 at 3:32 PM

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Like

    Reply
  15. Jacqui Murray | February 22, 2021 at 11:49 AM

    Thanks for hosting this, GP. I have to say, you have a lot of followers! Visits to my military blog have exploded! Thanks for sharing your community. I’m glad they enjoyed this bit of history.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP | February 22, 2021 at 2:24 PM

      I have always enjoyed your posts, Jacqui. I know I don’t comment as often as I should – it’s just time seems to slip past me faster each year! I’m glad to have introduced your site to anyone and everyone that comes by my place. You and I have been around Blogsville for a while now.

      Like

      Reply
  16. James Osborne | February 22, 2021 at 11:03 AM

    We do not celebrate nearly enough the outstanding examples our heroes set for all of us.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. T. W. Dittmer | February 22, 2021 at 9:53 AM

    Gosh. It’s good to read about people that courageous.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. equipsblog | February 22, 2021 at 7:54 AM

    I love this story. Will recommend the book for the USS Midway (CV-41) Research Library.

    Like

    Reply
    • GP | February 22, 2021 at 2:26 PM

      Fantastic, Pat. The Chaplins don’t often get a big shout-out.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • equipsblog | February 22, 2021 at 2:46 PM

        No, they don’t. Father, Mulcahey from M*A*S*H is my concept of what a good military chaplain should be. Not perfect, but caring and ecumenical.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
          • equipsblog | February 22, 2021 at 3:01 PM

            I grew up attending Sunday School and church on different Naval bases. We usually had nondenominational Protestant chaplains that I thought fit the Fr Mucahey mold. Nowadays, I hear there are more fundamentalist chaplains–that is not immediately a bad thing, but they seem more bound by the tenets of their particular faith than the needs of their community. In the early 2000s, I read a Washington Post Magazine article about a Southern Baptist chaplain assigned to a NATO base in the Middle East. The base had a ruined mosque that he was tasked with repairing for the Moslem troops of the Turkish military who were also stationed at the base. He was conflicted by the terms of his faith which did not allow him to repair anything but a Christian church and his military orders which required him to refurbish a mosque. I do not know what his ultimate decision was but he could either be removed from military service or being a Southern Baptist preacher. I have heard a few active-duty military members say they got tired of being saved every Sunday because that was not the religious tradition they were used to.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  20. beetleypete | February 22, 2021 at 6:21 AM

    Nice to see that Navy Chaplain was honoured for his courage, and dedication to his calling.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  21. GP | February 22, 2021 at 2:32 PM

    Thank you, Paul.

    Like

    Reply
  22. GP | February 23, 2021 at 5:41 AM

    Thank yu for sharing his story.

    Like

    Reply

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