Mervyn Sharp Bennion (May 5, 1887 – December 7, 1941) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

captain who served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was killed while he was in command of

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

during the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He posthumously received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for "conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life."

Family background

Bennion was born in Vernon,

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

on May 5, 1887. The religion of the family, which he shared, was

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. His Welsh grandfather, John Bennion, had immigrated to Utah with the

Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who Human migration, migrated beginning in the mid-1840s until the late-1860s across the United States from the ...

and established successful cattle operations near

Taylorsville, Utah Taylorsville is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah. It is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The population was 60,448 at the time of the 2020 census. Taylorsville was incorporated from the Taylorsville–Bennion CDP and portions of t ...

. Bennion was living near

Preston, Idaho Preston is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 5,591 at the 2020 census, up from 5,204 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Stat ...

when he received his acceptance to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. Bennion graduated third in his 1910 class from the academy. His Naval Academy classmates included

Marc Mitscher Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during World War II. E ...

and Charles Alan Pownall. His younger brother Howard Bennion graduated first in his class of 1912 at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

Naval career

Bennion's first assignment after graduation was on the in the engineering division. Subsequently, he was an ordnance and

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

nery specialist serving in the Ordnance Bureau at

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

during

. Bennion's first command was the destroyer , followed by command of Destroyer Division One. He assumed command of the USS ''West Virginia'' on July 2, 1941. Bennion was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, December 7, 1941, while in command of the battleship . He was mortally wounded by a shrapnel shard from the nearby after she was hit by a bomb. Mess Attendant Second Class

Doris Miller Doris "Dorie" Miller (October 12, 1919November 24, 1943) was a U.S. Navy sailor who was the first black recipient of the Navy Cross and a nominee for the Medal of Honor. As a mess attendant second class aboard the battleship , Miller helped car ...

and several other sailors attempted to move Captain Bennion to a first aid station, but he refused to leave his post, eventually ordering his men to leave him and save themselves. Using one arm to hold his wounds closed, he died from loss of blood while still commanding his crew. Bennion was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded the

. Bennion is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. On July 4, 1943, the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

, named in his honor, was christened by his widow.

Awards and honors

Medal of Honor citation

Bennion's Medal of Honor citation reads: Mervyn S Bennion grave

:For conspicuous devotion to duty, 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. As Commanding Officer of the USS ''West Virginia'', after being mortally wounded, Capt. Bennion evidenced apparent concern only in fighting and saving his ship, and strongly protested against being carried from the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

Notes and references

Notes

Citations

General sources

* Sherman L. Fleek, ''Saints of Valor: Mormon Medal of Honor Recipients'', (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books) 2013, chapter 2. * * * *

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennion, Mervyn 1887 births 1941 deaths Latter Day Saints from Utah United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy personnel killed in World War II United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients People from Tooele County, Utah United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy officers Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery Deaths by Japanese airstrikes during the attack on Pearl Harbor World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Captains who went down with the ship Latter Day Saints from Idaho Deaths from bleeding