A Naval
Academy graduate, Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh spent over three decades training for
combat. He saw action for only the last few minutes of his life.
Assigned
to the USS Arizona in February of
1941, he ran a tight ship. The men were well-trained through battle scenarios
and tactical exercises in the Pacific around Hawaii.
On
Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the Arizona’s
air raid siren sounded at 7:55, followed by general quarters. Van Valkenburgh
was seen sprinting for the bridge in full uniform.
Secretary
of the Navy Frank Knox told reporters three months later that a burst of
shrapnel hit Van Valkenburgh, tearing into his abdomen, as he emerged from the
conning tower to the bridge. He fell to the deck, but refused to be moved so he
could continue to direct the defense of his ship.
The
Arizona exploded at 8:06. Aviation
machinist mate first class Donald Graham described the scene. “The whole bridge
went up, flames enveloping and obscuring them from view as the flames shot
upward twice as high as the tops.”
Knox
reported, “When the bridge was a blazing inferno, two officers attempted to
remove him, but he ordered them to abandon him and save themselves.”
Van
Valkenburgh’s body was never found, only his 1909 academy class ring and two
buttons from his uniform. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for
conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and complete disregard of
his own life.
You wonder how many other stories would be written the same way. There was no combat during the 1920s and 30s so all the men training for that never saw combat until Pearl Harbor and so many died that day. How sad!
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