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Louisiana's Military Heritage:

    Medal of Honor Recipients

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RYAN, THOMAS JOHN, JR.

 

Organization: U.S. Navy
Rank: Ensign
Born: August 05, 1901—New Orleans, LA
Place & Date: Yokohama, Japan—September 01, 1923

 

Citation:

 

For heroism in effecting the rescue of a woman from the burning Grand Hotel, Yokohama, Japan, on 1 September 1923.  Following the earthquake and fire which occurred in Yokohama on 1 September, Ens. Ryan, with complete disregard for his own life, extricated a woman from the Grand Hotel, thus saving her life.  His heroic conduct upon this occasion reflects the greatest credit on himself and on the U.S. Navy, of which he is a part.

The Medal of Honor--U.S. Navy (1923-1942) [aka the Tiffany Cross]

 

 

 

U.S. Naval Academy photo of Midshipman Thomas John Ryan.

Midshipman Thomas John Ryan.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy.

 

Biographical Information:

 

The Medal was presented to Ensign Ryan by President Calvin Coolidge in a ceremony at the White House on March 15, 1924.  Ryan was a 1921 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  Following a long military career, he died on January 28, 1970, with the rank of Rear Admiral.  He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

 

 

 

 

 

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All information courtesy of the Medal of Honor Society and Arlington National Cemetery.

**Copyright 1997-2006 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**