Joseph T. O'Callahan

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Lieutenant Commander Joseph T. O'Callahan

Joseph Timothy O'Callahan S.J. (Born May 14, 1905 in Boston , Massachusetts , † March 18, 1964 in Worcester , Massachusetts) was an American Jesuit and military chaplain . In 1946 he was the first military chaplain to be awarded the Medal of Honor .

Life

Joseph Timothy O'Callahan was born on May 14, 1905 to Cornelius J. and Alice (Casey) O'Callahan in Boston , Massachusetts . After graduating from Boston College High School, he joined in 1922 in the Jesuit Seminary of St. Andrew-on-Hudson in Hyde Park - now the Culinary Institute of America - in the Jesuit order one. At Georgetown University , O'Callahan earned a Master of Arts degree , a degree in Catholic theology, and was also awarded a Ph.D. PhD. Later he received from his Alma Mater nor the Honorary Doctorate Honorary Doctor of Science awarded. On June 20, 1934, Joseph T. O'Callahan received the sacrament of ordination at Weston College . From 1929 to 1937 he was Professor of Mathematics, Philosophy and Physics at Boston College , 1937/38 he was Professor of Philosophy at the Jesuit Seminary at Weston College and Director of the Mathematics Department of the College of the Holy Cross , Worcester , from 1938 to 1940.

Joseph O'Callahan gives the last sacraments to injured sailors, March 19, 1945
Joseph T. O'Callahan (r.) With President Harry S. Truman (center) and other new Medal of Honor recipients during the award ceremony.

In August 1940, Father O'Callahan was inducted into the Naval Reserve Chaplain Corps with the rank of Lieutenant (Junior Grade). He was assigned to Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida until 1942 , then to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger until 1944, and then to Naval Air Stations in Alameda , California and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In early March 1945 he was transferred to the aircraft carrier USS Franklin .

A few weeks later, when the aircraft carrier was badly hit off Honshu on March 19, 1945 , O'Callahan distinguished himself by giving the anointing of the sick to dying sailors on the burning flight deck and himself leading damage control teams, extinguishing the fires and throwing burning ammunition overboard . The commanding officer described O'Callahan as "the bravest man I have ever seen." For his courage on board the Franklin O'Callahan was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman on January 23, 1946 .

In July 1945, O'Callahan was promoted to lieutenant commander , then served in the Navy Department and Naval Training Station, Newport , Rhode Island . In October 1945 he reported on board the newly commissioned aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1946 he escorted the body of the Philippine President Manuel Quezon from the United States to Manila . In November 1946, O'Callahan was released from active service and returned to the College of the Holy Cross, where he taught as a professor of philosophy. Until he left the marine reserve in 1953, he was promoted to captain because of his awards.

Joseph T. O'Callahan died on March 18, 1964 at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The US Navy named a Garcia-class frigate USS O'Callahan in his honor .

Publications

  • Joseph Timothy O'Callahan: I was Chaplain on the Franklin . Macmillan, New York 1956.

Web links

Commons : Joseph T. O'Callahan  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. College of the Holy Cross, Archives and Special Collections (pdf); Retrieved December 29, 2009  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.holycross.edu
  2. ↑ National Archives of the United States  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of December 18, 2009@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / arcweb.archives.gov  
  3. ^ Religion: Father O'Callahan's Medal , Time Magazine ; As of December 18, 2009
  4. ↑ Joseph O'Callahan; "Won the Medal of Honor" . In: New York Times, March 19, 1964, Obituaries , p. 33.
personal data
SURNAME O'Callahan, Joseph T.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Callahan, Joseph Timothy (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Jesuit and military chaplain, holder of the Medal of Honor
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1964
Place of death Worcester , Massachusetts