Admiral Daniel J Callaghan Society -- April 28, 2011

Tonight I attended the tenth annual meeting of the Admiral Daniel J Callaghan Society of my high school, Saint Ignatius College Prep. Tonight's meeting was held as a Zoom call. Captain Dennis Murphy (Ret), my classmate, interviewed former Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John M Richardson (Ret). They spoke about faith, service and the current situation of the Navy around the world. They both recalled serving as diplomats in foreign ports. 

After the talk, SI students who had won the Callaghan Society essay contest received their awards. 

Admiral Callaghan, SI 1907, won a posthumous Medal of Honor for his actions at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where he died on the bridge of the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco. The San Francisco survived the battle and was repaired at Mare Island. She served throughout the war. Her shell-torn bridge is preserved as a monument at Land's End in San Francisco. I took the photo on 07-January-2012.

Pearl Harbor Day #4 -- December 7, 2013

72 years ago a sneak attack by forces of the Japanese Empire sank much of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in the territory of Hawaii. The Japanese Empire came to regret doing this.

Heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, CA-38, was fortunate to survive the attack, as she waited to have her bottom scraped and new anti-aircraft guns installed. By December 16, she was ready to sail with a task force which attempted to relieve Wake Island. In October, 1942, under the command of Admiral Daniel J Callaghan, she was the flagship at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Callaghan knew that his task force was vastly outnumbered and outgunned, but he did his duty. He died on the bridge and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

In March, 2011, I was honored to meet three men who served at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal with Callaghan on the San Francisco.

San Francisco survived the battle and was repaired at Mare Island. She served throughout the war. Her shell-torn bridge is preserved as a monument at Land's End in San Francisco.  I took the photo on 07-January-2012. 

Pearl Harbor Day #2 -- December 7, 2011

70 years ago a sneak attack by forces of the Japanese Empire sank much of the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in the territory of Hawaii. The Japanese Empire came to regret doing this.

Heavy cruiser USS San Francisco, CA-38, was fortunate to survive the attack, as she waited to have her bottom scraped and new anti-aircraft guns installed. By December 16, she was ready to sail with a task force which attempted to relieve Wake Island. In October, 1942, under the command of Admiral Daniel J Callaghan, she was the flagship at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Callaghan knew that his task force was vastly outnumbered and outgunned, but he did his duty. He died on the bridge and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

In March, I was honored to meet three men who served at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal with Callaghan on the San Francisco.

San Francisco survived the battle and was repaired at Mare Island. She served throughout the war. Her shell-torn bridge is preserved as a monument at Land's End in San Francisco.

Admiral Daniel J Callaghan Society -- March 31, 2011

Today I took a day off so I could attend the Saint Ignatius Downtown Business Lunch. This was the first one I had attended since the early 1990s. There was a much bigger crowd today at the Marines' Memorial. The school is inaugurating an Admiral Daniel J Callaghan Society to provide scholarships to kids who want to go into the military. Admiral Callaghan, SI 1907, won a posthumous Medal of Honor for his actions at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where he died on the bridge of the cruiser San Francisco. His great-great-granddaughter, who is a student at SI, was there, as were three of his crew who were with him at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal. The retired Senior Chief organizes the Memorial Day services at the San Francisco Monument.

Two of my classmates who attended Annapolis, retired Captain Dennis Murphy and Admiral Jim Shannon, were there. We had two tables full of members of our class. Dennis introduced Jim, who spoke about changing Naval doctrines and some of his experiences, and his thoughts about Admiral Callaghan living through the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, and then going to Annapolis, serving in FDR's White House, then commanding the San Francisco through Pearl Harbor and leading a vastly outnumbered and outgunned task force into battle at Guadalcanal.

He also spoke about Father Paul Capitolo, who is retiring. Everyone loves Father Capitolo. I asked him what he will be doing. He said he is not looking forward to being around other retired Jesuits -- being around the kids has kept him young.

One man said "It's hard to find places to honor the military in San Francisco."