Joseph O’Callahan graduated from Boston College High School and then joined the Jesuit Order in 1988. He completed philosophical studies at Weston College in 1929, and began teaching Physics at Boston College. He was ordained a Catholic Priest in 1924, and became director of the Mathematics Department at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts. He subsequently earned his Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy, and Licentiate in Sacred Theology from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He was teaching math, physics, and philosophy at Holy Cross when he requested permission to enter military service as a U.S. Navy Chaplain in 1940. In 1942 he was assigned to the U.S.S. Ranger (CV-4), an aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Fleet, and after that to the U.S.S. Franklin. He was the first chaplain since the Civil War, and the first Catholic Chaplain in history, to earn the Medal of Honor. He was released from active duty on November 12, 1946, with the rank of full commander, and remained in the Naval Reserve until 1953, retiring as a captain. He returned to Holy Cross, but suffered a disabling stroke and retired from teaching in 1950. He wrote about his experiences in the book “”I Was Chaplain on the Franklin.”
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Cemetery:
Awards Received
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Medal of Honor
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Medal of Honor
Service:
United States NavyRank:
Commander (ChC)Division:
U.S.S. Franklin (CV-13)Action Date:
March 19, 1945
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Commander (ChC) Joseph Timothy O’Callahan, United States Naval Reserve, 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, Lieutenant Commander 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, Lieutenant Commander 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.