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Naval History and Heritage Command
Bennion, Mervyn Sharp
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Photography / US People / B /

Bennion, Mervyn Sharp

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Captain, USN, (1887-1941)

Mervyn Sharp Bennion was born in Vernon, Utah, on 5 May 1887. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1910 and later specialized in naval ordnance. He was Commanding Officer of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) at the time of the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor and was mortally wounded on the ship's bridge when a bomb exploded nearby. Captain Mervyn S. Bennion was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.


The destroyer USS Bennion (DD-662), 1943-1972, was named in honor of Captain Bennion.


This page features our only view of Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, USN.