Mervyn Sharp Bennion was born in Vernon, Utah, on 5 May 1887. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1910 and later specialized in naval ordnance. He was Commanding Officer of the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) at the time of the 7 December 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor and was mortally wounded on the ship's bridge when a bomb exploded nearby. Captain Mervyn S. Bennion was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
The destroyer USS Bennion (DD-662), 1943-1972, was named in honor of Captain Bennion.
This page features our only view of Captain Mervyn S. Bennion, USN.
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Medal of Honor citation of Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion (as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The Navy", page 156): |
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 10 December 2000