Thomas J. Ryan (admiral)

Thomas J. Ryan (admiral)

Infobox Military Person
name= Thomas John Ryan, Jr.
born= birth date|1901|8|5
died= death date and age|1970|1|28|1901|8|5
placeofburial= Arlington National Cemetery


caption=US Naval Academy photo of Thomas J. Ryan
nickname=
placeofbirth=New Orleans, Louisiana
placeofdeath=
allegiance=United States of America
branch=United States Navy
serviceyears=
rank=Rear Admiral
unit=Third Fleet
commands=
battles=World War II
*Solomon Islands campaign
*Invasion of New Georgia
*Battle of Kolombangara
*Battle off Horaniu
awards=Medal of Honor
relations=
laterwork=

Rear Admiral Thomas John Ryan, Jr. (August 5, 1901 – January 28, 1970) was a career American naval officer who received the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration, for his actions while in Yokohama, Japan during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Ryan went on to serve in World War II as a destroyer flotilla commander.

Early life

Ryan was a 1921 graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. While an ensign, he was in Yokohama, Japan during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, during which he saved a woman, Mrs. Slack, from the burning Grand Hotel. [ Hammer, Joshua. "Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II." New York: Free Press, 2006., pgs. 98-99. ISBN 0743264657] This action earned Ryan the Medal of Honor, making him one of 18 men to receive the Medal of Honor during the interwar period from 1920-1940.cite web |url=http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/html/moh/interim1920-40.html |title=Medal of Honor Recipients, Interim Awards, 1920-1940 |publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military |accessdate=2007-08-27] Ryan was presented the Medal of Honor by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House on March 15, 1924.

World War II

During World War II, Captain Ryan served as a destroyer flotilla commander in the South Pacific while part of the Third Fleet under the command of Admiral William "Bull" Halsey and saw action during the Solomon Islands campaign. He commanded the destroyer screen which supported the invasion of New Georgia in 1943, assisting the American landings on Rendova Island on June 30 by knocking out Japanese shore batteries. In the Battle of Kolombangara two weeks later on July 12-13, he was in command of the rear echelon of destroyers as part of Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth's Task Force 18. A torpedo fired from Ryan's destroyers during the battle may have hit the Japanese cruiser Jintsu, which was sunk during the battle. [Morison, page 186]

A month later, on August 17-18, Ryan led a group of destroyers which engaged a Japanese flotilla composed of destroyers, barges, and other light vessels under Rear Admiral Matsuji Ijuin which were attempting to reinforce the island of Horaniu near Vella Lavella. Although Ryan succeeded in forcing the escorting enemy destroyers to retreat, most of the barge transports escaped. After lying low the next day, on August 19, these barges landed a force of 390 Japanese on Horaniu, who succeeded in establishing a barge base. [Morison, page 236] However, this base was later captured by the Americans on September 14.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Ryan served as the trial judge advocate (prosecutor) in late 1945 during the court-martial of Charles B. McVay III. McVay, who had graduated from the Naval Academy a year ahead of Ryan in 1920, had been a friend of his for 25 years. [cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886709,00.html |title="The Good of the Service" |publisher=Time |accessdate=2007-08-27] He was the captain of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, which had been torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine I-58 on July 30 1945. McVay was convicted of "hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag", but was exonerated more than 50 years later in October, 2000.

Ryan went on to reach the rank of rear admiral. He died on January 28, 1970 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

His citation reads as follows:

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.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients during Peacetime

Notes

References

*cite book
author=Hammer, Joshua
title=Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II
date=2006 ed.
publisher=Free Press
location=New York
isbn=0743264657
pages=313 pages

*cite book
author=Morison, Samuel Eliot
title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume 6: Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, 22 July 1942-1 May 1944
date=2001 ed.
publisher=Castle Books
location=
isbn=0-7858-1307-1
pages=

*cite web
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
title = Medal of Honor Recipients, Interim Awards, 1920-1940
work =
date = 2007-07-16
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/html/moh/interim1920-40.html
accessdate = 2007-08-27

*findagrave|20729 Retrieved on 2007-11-19
*Citation
last =
first =
author-link = J
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = The Good of the Service
newspaper = Time
pages =
year = 1945
date = December 31, 1945
url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,886709,00.html

*cite web
publisher = Arlington National Cemetery website
title = Thomas J. Ryan, Jr., Rear Admiral, United States Navy
work =
date = 2007-07-08
url = http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/thomasjr.htm
accessdate = 2007-08-27

Persondata
NAME= Ryan, Thomas J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=


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