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Kent Weekly (SS/DSV) (DBF), EMCS
to remember
Ryan Jr., Thomas John (MOH), RADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town New Orleans
Date of Passing Jan 28, 1970
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Ryan was a 1921 graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. While an ensign, he was in Yokohama, Japan during the 1923 Great KantÅ? earthquake, during which he saved a woman, Mrs. Slack, from the burning Grand Hotel. 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.  Ryan was presented the Medal of Honor by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House on March 15, 1924.  Ryan went on to reach the rank of rear admiral.Â
Other Comments:
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."
New Georgia Campaign (1943)/Battle of Kolombangara
From Month/Year
July / 1943
To Month/Year
July / 1943
Description The Battle of Kolombangara ( known as the Second Battle of Kula Gulf) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.
Battle
At 01:00 on 13 July, the Allied ships established radar contact about 20 mi (17 nmi; 32 km) east of the northern tip of Kolombangara. Ainsworth assumed he had complete surprise, but the Japanese had been aware of the Allied force for almost two hours. The destroyers increased speed to engage the Japanese force while the cruisers turned to deploy their main batteries, but the Imperial destroyers had already launched Long Lance torpedoes and turned away. Jintsu engaged the Allied ships, but all Allied fire was concentrated on the largest ship. Jintsu was reduced to a wreck while Leander was struck by a torpedo and, severely damaged, retired from the battle escorted by Radford and Jenkins. Jintsu was finally broken in two by torpedo hits and sank at about 01:45, with the loss of nearly her entire crew, including Vice Admiral Izaki.
Ainsworth pursued the Imperial destroyers, but both St. Louis and Honolulu were struck by torpedoes and damaged, while Gwin was struck amidships and scuttled at 09:30 the next morning.
Aftermath
Honolulu and St. Louis were out of action for several months, while Leander was under repair for a year and never returned to action during World War II.
Except for Jintsu, the Japanese force escaped damage, and the transport destroyers successfully landed 1,200 men at Vila. The Emperor's men had won a tactical victory, but of the action the naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison wrote: "A string of such victories added up to defeat."
Though at a severe cost, Ainsworth also accomplished his mission of preventing an attack on the Marines, and combined with the earlier Battle of Kula Gulf, successfully deterred the Japanese from future use of Kula Gulf in reinforcing Munda. After the Battle of Kolombangara, the Japanese chose to use Vella Gulf, Blackett Strait, and the more constricted passage at Wana Wana, resulting in a series of nightly attacks by U.S. destroyers and PT boats against their reinforcement efforts.
