Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion KIA MOH

Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion US Navy KIA. He was the son of Israel Bennion and Jannette S Bennion of Vernon, Tooele County, Utah and he was born on May 5, 1887. He was the Commanding Officer of the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor. “On 7 December 1941. As Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. WEST VIRGINIA (BB-48), after being mortally wounded, Captain Bennion evidenced apparent concern only in fighting and saving his ship, and strongly protested against being carried from the bridge.” According to Doris Miller Navy Cross Citation; “Mess Attendant First Class Doris Miller, despite enemy strafing and bombing and in the face of a serious fire, assisted in moving his Captain, who had been mortally wounded, to a place of greater safety, and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft.” Captain Bennion died of his wounds on December 7, 1941 at the age of 54. Captain Bennion was awarded the Medal of Honor (MOH) the Purple Heart Medal PHM the American Campaign Medal the World War One Victory Medal, the World War Two Victory Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon.

sources
1- http://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=307094
2- http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=2346
3- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Bennion&GSfn=Mervyn+&GSby=1887&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1941&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=8131613&df=all&
4- http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=20695
5- the 1900 United States Federal Census