Few students know that on the far end of our cemetery, under a grand red, white, and blue wreath, lies a man of incredible distinction, someone who truly lived the Holy Cross ideal of being a man for others. A man of such a distinct courage that our President and our nation saw him fit to receive the highest award our country can bestow: the Congressional Medal of Honor. His name is known in a few circles on our campus, echoed by those who preserve the names of those worthy of our alma mater, and is certainly resounded by the legions of angels and saints in heaven. To our great pride and glory, the final resting place of Fr. Joseph O’Callahan is on our very own campus.
Fr. O’Callahan was born on May 14th, 1905. Just after graduating from Boston College High School, he began formation with hopes of being ordained into the Jesuit order. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1925 and a master’s in 1929 from St. Andrew’s College, specializing in mathematics, physics, and philosophy. Fr. O’Callahan was ordained into the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1934. He went on to teach at Boston College, the Jesuit Seminary of Weston College, and eventually directed Holy Cross’ mathematics department in 1938. Coincidentally, one of his students, John V. Power, would also go on to earn the Medal of Honor.
As the U.S. entered into World War II, Fr. O’Callahan felt a strong patriotic duty to serve his nation and put aside his fruitful academic career. He joined the Naval Reserve Chaplain’s Corps and was soon ordered into active naval service in 1940, assigned to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.
O’Callahan possessed a special courage few men ever witness. From his very induction into the Navy, he “sought sea duty and wanted to be aboard a carrier” because “[aircraft carriers] are the queens of the fleet, Fighting Ladies, always in the thick of the fray” (IWCF pg. 3). In April of 1942, he was given orders to report to the USS Ranger, set to soon deploy into the European campaign. While aboard the Ranger, O’Callahan was given the opportunity to cut his teeth by learning naval procedure and participating in Operation Torch and Operation Leader as a valued sailor. Aboard the USS Ranger, O’Callahan witnessed the amphibious conquest of French Morocco and the raids of German Shipping in Norwegian waters, becoming an esteemed sailor and finding a passion for his vessel and the Navy he served.
Shortly after his tour on the USS Ranger, O’Callahan was ordered to report to the USS Franklin to aid in a critical operation for the defeat of the Japanese. In March of 1945, Fr. O’Callahan reported to the USS Franklin in Pearl Harbor, which began the perilous duties of Task Force 58. As part of Task Force 58, the USS Franklin would come closer than any other carrier to the Japanese mainland during the war in an attempt to destroy the remnants of the Japanese fleet.
Before dawn on March 19th, 1945, the USS Franklin launched a fighter sweep against Honshu and the Kure Harbor. All men remained alert to a possible Japanese retaliation, forgoing sleep and opportunities to eat. Despite their close attention to possible threats, a Japanese dive bomber slipped through the cloud cover and slung two semi-armor piercing bombs onto the deck. Fires, explosions, and calamity ensued. A rising inferno consumed all aircrafts and men on deck. The hangar, likewise, was consumed, leaving only two survivors and eviscerating all remaining aircrafts. However, another danger remained. The initial impact of the bombs set off the armed munitions of the striker aircrafts and further threatened the fuel lines of the carrier. There were still tons of munitions within the ship, and an imminent powder keg threatened the remaining lives. The Franklin was left incapacitated and without communications, broiling in the heat of the roaring flames and suffocating the brave survivors. From the bridge, Captain Gehres quickly moved to save the vessel but found vital contingencies failing. A key concern was the Franklin’s magazines, which were posed to explode and lacked critical water lines to extinguish the flames. Rear Admiral Davison urged Capt. Gehres to abandon the ship, but neither the Captain nor his men were willing as there were still many survivors below deck.
Answering his call in this dire situation, Father O’Callahan quickly moved onto the slanting deck to do whatever was necessary to save the men God had entrusted him with. He quickly organized parties of survivors to disarm gun turrets and armed munitions primed to go off. Moving everywhere, all at once, in the midst of fire, debris, and the cries of the wounded and dying, Fr. O’Callahan managed to direct men to crucial duties while administering rites to the dying and comforting the wounded. Capt. Gehres recalls with evident awe the bravery of Fr. O’Callahan as a five-hundred pound bomb broke loose on the deck and began to roll toward an open hold filled with ammunition. A group of sailors instinctively stopped the bomb’s roll but froze at the prospect of having to defuse it. Captain Gehres saw Fr. O’Callahan appear out of nowhere and calmly stand over the bomb, inspiring and encouraging the men as they successfully defused it. Capt. Gehres later referred to Fr. O’Callahan as “the bravest man I have ever seen” [1]. Another striking anecdote is the effort of Fr. O’Callahan in leading firefighting teams into the bowels of the ship to put out raging fires on the magazines and to lead men out of imperiled cells. This man, armed with nothing but a helmet and a bottle of holy water, fulfilled his duty honorably,risking his life for the sake of others. He possessed courage akin to that of the greatest of warriors, leaders, and saints.
Fr. O’Callahan maintained the humility of one who knows his duty to God and man, recognizing that he was only one of many to rebel against his ever-dismal fate; he recognized that hundreds of men answered with courage and strength to the needs of their brethren. In answering the praise of Capt. Gehres and the publicity around his actions, Fr. O’Callahan modestly noted that his part in saving the aircraft carrier was “exaggerated”; “Any priest in like circumstances should do and would do what I did” [2]. On that fateful day, seven-hundred and twenty-four sailors perished, and two-hundred and sixty five were injured.
Eventually, the carrier was saved and towed back to the United States for repairs. Due to public outcry, President Truman awarded, Fr. O’Callahan the Medal of Honor and he continued to serve until November 1946. Fr. O’Callahan returned to Holy Cross as a professor in the Philosophy department until he passed away in 1964. In his honor, the U.S. commissioned the USS O’Callahan in 1968. He is now laid to rest in our cemetery and his Medal of Honor, which can be found in the Dinand Archives, testifies to his virtue.
Fr. O’Callahan’s Medal of Honor Citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as chaplain on board the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy Japanese aircraft during offensive operations near Kobe, Japan, on 19 March 1945. A valiant and forceful leader, calmly braving the perilous barriers of flame and twisted metal to aid his men and his ship, Lt. Comdr. O'Callahan groped his way through smoke-filled corridors to the open flight deck and into the midst of violently exploding bombs, shells, rockets, and other armament. With the ship rocked by incessant explosions, with debris and fragments raining down and fires raging in ever-increasing fury, he ministered to the wounded and dying, comforting and encouraging men of all faiths; he organized and led firefighting crews into the blazing inferno on the flight deck; he directed the jettisoning of live ammunition and the flooding of the magazine; he manned a hose to cool hot, armed bombs rolling dangerously on the listing deck, continuing his efforts, despite searing, suffocating smoke which forced men to fall back gasping and imperiled others who replaced them. Serving with courage, fortitude, and deep spiritual strength, Lt. Comdr. O'Callahan inspired the gallant officers and men of the Franklin to fight heroically and with profound faith in the face of almost certain death and to return their stricken ship to port. [3]
As members of the Holy Cross community, we live, succeed, and strive in memory of those who have come before us, never forgetting that we are all living members in the Kingdom of God, established on the throne of our hearts. Let us rejoice that many great men, like Father O’Callahan, have been and are with us as we pursue our vocations in life. And let us draw courage and inspiration from them, ad maiorem Dei gloriam.
In honor of the memory of Fr. O’Callahan, Holy Cross maintains the O’Callahan Society which “encourages and cultivates the traditions associated with the Jesuit, liberal arts education of military and naval officers” [4]. For further information, there is a page on the Holy Cross website (https://www.holycross.edu/alumni/crusaders-connect/affinity-groups/ocallahan-society).
Endnotes:
[1] David Davidson and Leslie Gehres, “BEFORE THE COLORS FADE: Leslie Gehres: Captain of the "Ship that Wouldn't Die””, American Heritage, April, 1969, https://www.americanheritage.com/leslie-gehres-captain-ship-wouldnt-die\.
[2] Joseph O’Callahan, I Was Chaplain on the Franklin,
[3] “JOSEPH TIMOTHY O’CALLAHAN”, Medal of Honor Society, https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/joseph-t-ocallahan.
[4] “O’Callahan Society,” College of the Holy Cross, https://www.holycross.edu/alumni/crusaders-connect/affinity-groups/ocallahan-society.
Further Sources Consulted:
Naval History and Heritage Command. “Modern Biographies: Joseph Timothy O’Callahan.” https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/modern-biographical-files-ndl/modern-bios-o/ocallahan-joseph-timothy.html.
Satterfield, John R. Saving Big Ben: The USS Franklin and Father Joseph T. O’Callahan. Naval Institute Press, 2011.
The Ancient Order of Hibernians, “A Shepherd in the Flames: The Medal of Honor Story of Fr. Joseph O’Callahan”, March 11, 2024,https://aoh.com/2024/03/11/a-shepherd-in-the-flames-the-medal-of-honor-story-of-fr-joseph-ocallahan/.