Valor Tales

In the history of the Medal of Honor there have been 3,523 awards, including 19 men who received the medal twice. The Army claims 2,454 of those awards, the Navy 748, the Marine Corps 300, and the Air Force only 19 (though in defense of my branch, we can claim many from WWI and WWII when we were a part of the Army). When asked what the composition of the United States military is, these four branches will be the common answer. There is one, often forgotten, branch of the US military; the Coast Guard. They can lay claim to having a single recipient of the Medal of Honor and only 36 Coast Guardsmen have been awarded a service cross (the Navy Cross in all such cases). This will actually be another two-person article. These two men, due to their inseparability in their personal and military lives after enlisting were known as the “Gold Dust Twins.” Today we speak of legendary Coasties Douglas Munro and Raymond Evans. In September, 1939 when the war in Europe kicked off with Germany...

Ten hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the second phase of Japan’s war against the US commenced. At 0220 local time on 8 December, 1941, the American forces in the Philippines received notice that an attack was underway at Pearl Harbor. Despite ample warning, including having three pursuit (fighter) squadrons in the air and radar tracks of incoming aircraft, there were numerous systemic and communication problems that led to many American aircraft being destroyed in the initial attacks. The air attacks were followed by a Japanese amphibious invasion of the island of Luzon. The US Asiatic Fleet had been largely withdrawn after suffering heavy losses to Japanese air superiority. Only submarines, small ships, and motor torpedo (PT) boats remained to contest the Japanese Naval forces. Taking the initiative, on 22 December, Japan landed more than 43,000 men and 90 tanks. The American forces numbered just over 31,000 at the end of November, with 12,000 of that being Phili...

In US Navy history, women were largely restricted to the Nurse Corps until World War II. There was a short period of women working in a variety of roles in the Navy during WWI, but all were discharged after the war. So from the beginning of the US Navy until 1942, women were only permitted to serve in the Navy as nurses. One such woman is my subject today. Ann Bernatitus, who retired as a captain from the US Navy in 1959, is a story worth telling. Bernatitus was commissioned as an ensign into the Nurse Corps in 1936 after graduating college in 1934 and completing a post-graduate program in operating room nursing in 1935. Her first postings were to naval hospitals in Massachusetts and Maryland. In 1940, as the world was succumbing to war, Bernatitus was assigned to USS Chaumont, a transport ship in the Pacifc. The ship's typical duties saw her moving men and materiel from Hawaii to Manila. In July, 1940, on one of these trips, now Lieutenant (J.G.) Bernatitus was re...

On May 8th, 2019 an American soldier was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross (the second highest award for combat valor, behind only the Medal of Honor) in a ceremony at the John F Kennedy Auditorium at Fort Bragg, NC. Normally the presentation of an award as prestigious as this is news enough. In the case of this soldier, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jason Myers, it's especially noteworthy as this was his second Distinguished Service Cross. He is now the only soldier on active duty with two DSCs.  With a home of record of West Perry, Pennsylvania, CWO3 Myers reminds us why the Green Berets of the Army Special Forces call themselves "quiet professionals". I can find little information on CWO3 Myers civilian life or his career, other than his two DSC awards. From reading his uniform, I can see Two Bronze Stars (at least one w/ V), two Purple Hearts, a Meritorious Service Medal, and both the Combat Infantryman Badge as well as the Combat Medical ...

The military is one of those rare places where two men from radically different backgrounds and stations in life can have their paths cross in the most amazing of ways. Today's story is one such as this. The morning of Dec 7th, 1941 is a day that, as FDR said, will "live in infamy." Of the many heroic men and women on duty and off on that fateful morning involved in the unprovoked Japanese attack, two found themselves coming together in the midst of the battle in an unexpected way. Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion Captain Mervyn Bennion, 54 years old, of the battleship USS West Virginia, which was moored at Pearl, had been educated at Annapolis. Graduating third in his class of 1910, he was known as a fountain of knowledge to his fellow midshipmen, and was well regarded by staff and students alike. A child of Mormon pioneers in the Utah territory, he grew up working ranches and his father's store in the small town of Vernon. Bennion became a gunnery ...

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Kettles, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2016 by President Obama for actions during the Vietnam War, passed on 21 Jan, 2019. In remembrance of him, here is his incredible story. Kettles, from Ypsilanti, Michigan, studied engineering at Michigan State Normal College before being drafted at age 21 into the Army in 1951. Selected for OCS, he was commissioned as an armor officer in February 1953. He went on to graduate the Army Aviation School in 1954 and served in South Korea, Japan, and Thailand in the next few years. Kettles returned home in 1956 and took a position with the 4th Battalion, 20th Field Artillery of the Army Reserve in Dewitt, Michigan. He opened a Ford dealership during this timeframe. In 1963, as the US was becoming involved in greater numbers in Vietnam, Kettles volunteered for active duty. Already a fixed wing pilot, he underwent rotary transition training at Ft Wolters in Texas in 1964. The following year, while on ass...