Religion: Father O’Callahan’s Medal

“The carrier [Franklin’] was turned into a floating inferno. . . . Chaplain O’Callahan left his battle station . . . to go to the blazing flight deck. There he ministered to the wounded and dying of all faiths . . . . Though wounded . . . he continued his life-saving efforts in spite of suffocating smoke and searing heat.”

Last week Joseph T. O’Callahan, S.J. (now a full commander assigned to the new carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt) received for heroism aboard the Franklin a hero’s reward: the Congressional Medal of Honor. Added lustre: never before had a chaplain won the medal.