Mervyn S Bennion - One hundred and eighty episodes tell the story of Mervyn S. Benin. All stories for February and March will be World War II. Be sure to visit our website for more information on the show's launch: Thanks for listening and be sure to share with friends and family!
Mervyn was born on May 5, 1887 in Vernon, Utah Territory. His grandfather emigrated from Wales to Utah with Mormon pioneers and established a cattle operation near Taylorsville. Mervyn was living in Idaho when he was accepted into the US Naval Academy and graduated from the academy third in his class in 1910.
Mervyn S Bennion
After graduation, Mervyn was assigned to the USS California and became an ammunition and weapons specialist in the Ordnance Bureau at the Washington Naval Yard during World War I. He was first given command of USS Bernardo and later assumed command of USS West Virginia on 2 July 1941. By this time Marvin was a captain and it was his actions during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that earned him a medal or honor. The quote reads:
British Medical Journal (1857)
For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and total disregard for his own life during the attack on the Pearl Harbor fleet by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. As commander of the USS West. After the Virginia, mortally wounded, Captain Bennion took the apparent precaution of only fighting and saving his ship, and vehemently protested against being taken off the bridge.
Mervyn's Medal of Honor was posthumously presented to his wife, Louise, and she named an American destroyer in his honor on July 4, 1943. Mervyn Sharp Bennion is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. West 2 148 1 st. Caption: Capt. Mervyn Sharp Bennion, who served as commanding officer of the USS West Virginia (BB-48), was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry and duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. U.S. Naval and Heritage Command Image 56251.
A graduate of the USNA Class of 1910, Mervyn Benin received his commission on March 7, 1912 and was appointed an engineer on the USS California. He served briefly on California, USS Annapolis, USS St. Louis from April 1912 to September 1915. Louis and the USS Colorado. He pursued postgraduate studies in ordnance until 1 March 1917 when he reported to the USS North Dakota for service in the first year of WWI. Bennion then reported from May 1918 to January 1919 for duty connected with fitting out the USS New Mexico for service aboard that ship. After a year of service with BUORD in DC, he helped fit out the USS Maryland and then served as her Assistant Fire Control Officer. From July 1921 to May 1923. Between 1923 and 1926 he was a gunnery officer on the USS Florida and then the USS Tennessee. He returned to the USS Maryland in 1927 as its navigator. His first command was USS Bernardo from July to October 1932 and his second command was USS Biddle from October 1932 to May 1933 - serving briefly as Commander Destroyer Divisions One and Nine. From July 1933 to May 1936 he served on the staff of CINC, US Fleet, completed a course at the Naval War College and served on the staff of the War College. He joined USS Arizona in June 1936, assumed command of USS Nitro in June 1937, and began a second tour of duty with BUORD in 1937. Captain Bennion took his last command of the USS West Virginia on 21 June 1941 and led her for a period. of intensive training exercises.
West Virginia was on battleship row from USS Tennessee (BB 43) when Japanese aircraft began their attack on Pearl Harbor shortly before 08:00 on the morning of 7 December. The ship took seven torpedo hits and two bombs. Commanding his bridge after the first alarm, Captain Bennion received a ricocheting splinter in the upper abdomen. The fragment came from a 15-inch "bomb" that hit Tennessee's Bridge II. The fragment partially severed Benin and disabled his lower body. Fully conscious and without morphine, Benin ordered the attending crew to drop him on the bridge where he fell. When a gangway sailed from West Virginia to Tennessee and then ashore to evacuate the wounded, Bennion again refused to disembark, saying that he was "in full possession of my faculty and still in command of the ship." The order to withdraw the men is: Go to your stations and move forward. During the 60-90 minutes he remains conscious, Benin is busy with the battle, asking his officers how the battle is going, the status of the evacuation of the wounded, and this. To get assurances that all of his crews were capable of fighting other ships, one of his officers reported that Bennion was "extremely pleased to hear what guns [at West Virginia] fired." A seaman working a station in front of a ship with the West Virginia saw Benin try unsuccessfully to get to his feet several times during the attack. One of the bombs hit the front of the ship. ignited the oil supply and fuel tanks below and engulfed the bridge in flames. By this time, Benin was either dead or in a coma, and six officers carried him away from the flames. Presented at the Voyage Bridge. The officers were eventually forced to abandon ship, leaving their captain behind. After the fire was brought under control and they were able to return to the bridge the next day, Benin's body was remarkably untouched by the flames.
Utah's Medal Winners Are Roll Of Amazing Heroes
Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox paid tribute to Benin's bravery in a December 15 press release. His widow was flown over West Virginia during the attack. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously in early March 1942. USS Bennion (DD 662) was named in honor of the captain. Commissioned in December 1943, he received the PUC for his gallant participation in Okinawa (he also participated in the Mariana Operation; the occupation of Tenian; the Western Caroline Islands Operation; the Leyte Operation; the Luzon Operation; the Iwo Jima Operation; Okinawa Operation; and Third Fleet operations against Japan).
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