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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.

 

 

Ensign Thomas John Ryan, Jr. is presented the Medal of Honor by President Calvin Coolidge.

President Calvin Coolidge presents the Medal of Honor

to Ensign Thomas John Ryan at the White House

on March 15, 1924.

Official U.S. Navy photograph.

 

 

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.  During World War II, Captain Ryan served as the commander of a destroyer flotilla within the U.S. Third Fleet in the South Pacific.  He saw action in the Solomon Islands, supporting the invasion of New Georgia and the landings on Rendova Island.  His squadron also took part in the Battle of Kolombangara and opposed the landing of Japanese troops on the island of Horaniu near Vella Lavella.

 

With war's end, Captain Ryan had the unenviable task of serving as the trial judge advocate during the court martial of long-time friend and Academy classmate Charles B. McVay III, captain of the ill-fated USS INDIANAPOLIS (CA-35).  In later years, he would command the light cruiser USS PROVIDENCE (CL-82).  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**