Medal of Honor
1941-12-07
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, USA
- Rank at action
- Ensign
- Service
- U.S. Naval Reserve
- Conflict
- World War II
- Unit or command
- U.S.S. Oklahoma
The Citation
Sources ↓For conspicuous devotion to duty and extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. When it was seen that the U.S.S. Oklahoma was going to capsize and the order was given to abandon ship, Ens. Flaherty remained in a turret, holding a flashlight so the remainder of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Francis Charles Flaherty — Congressional Medal of Honor Society recipient profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-09-01
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-002866
- Transcription status
- Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
- Last source check
- 2026-09-01
- Accredited to
- Michigan
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- 8876462ca7d472c4dc424eabddb16e4ce51da40cf1b45fe5174f6f05eab74d5e
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile comparison is documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
Current profile expands the middle name.