|
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, Junior Grade, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Franklin.
Place and date: Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, 19 March 1945.
Entered service at: Ohio. Birth: 23 July 1903, Findlay, Ohio. Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty as an engineering officer attached to the U.S.S.
Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy aircraft during
the operations against the Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, 19 March
1945. Stationed on the third deck when the ship was rocked by a series
of violent explosions set off in her own ready bombs, rockets, and ammunition
by the hostile attack, Lt. (j.g.) Gary unhesitatingly risked his life to
assist several hundred men trapped in a messing compartment filled with
smoke, and with no apparent egress. As the imperiled men below decks became
increasingly panic stricken under the raging fury of incessant explosions,
he confidently assured them he would find a means of effecting their release
and, groping through the dark, debris-filled corridors, ultimately discovered
an escapeway. Stanchly determined, he struggled back to the messing compartment
3 times despite menacing flames, flooding water, and the ominous threat
of sudden additional explosions, on each occasion calmly leading his men
through the blanketing pall of smoke until the last one had been saved.
Selfless in his concern for his ship and his fellows, he constantly rallied
others about him, repeatedly organized and led fire-fighting parties into
the blazing inferno on the flight deck and, when firerooms 1 and 2 were
found to be inoperable, entered the No. 3 fireroom and directed the raising
of steam in 1 boiler in the face of extreme difficulty and hazard. An inspiring
and courageous leader, Lt. (j.g.) Gary rendered self-sacrificing service
under the most perilous conditions and, by his heroic initiative, fortitude,
and valor, was responsible for the saving of several hundred lives. His
conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and upon the
U.S. Naval Service.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
| | |