Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

NH 75840 Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, USN

Photo #: NH 75840 Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh, USN
Description: Who was awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for devotion to duty and courage while serving as Commanding Officer of USS Arizona (BB-39) during the 7 December 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor. Halftone reproduction, copied from the official publication Medal of Honor, 1861-1948, The Navy, page 272. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
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Medal of Honor citation of Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 272):


"For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, T.H., by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. As Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Arizona, Captain Van Valkenburgh gallantly fought his ship until the U.S.S. Arizona blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit on the bridge which resulted in the loss of his life."

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