Another Dec. 7 story------December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor...and Midway

December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor...and Midway
"What many people don’t realize is there was another hostile, surprise attack by Japanese forces that same Sunday in December. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they attacked United States Marines stationed on the island of Midway. 

There was a young Marine Corps Lieutenant on nearby Sand Island, who’d arrived on the USS Wharton out of Pearl Harbor in September.
...Cannon was named platoon leader for artillery Battery H on the island. In addition, he served as a member of the Battalion Coding Board, attempting to translate any intercepted Japanese radio messages.
…On December 7, 1941, 1st LT George H. Cannon, age 26, was assigned platoon leader of Battery H, 6th Defense Battalion on a critical power station on Sand Island near Midway...

The Japanese shelled Midway Island on December 7, 1941, with two destroyers Sazanami and Ushio…

…and Lt. Cannon did what Marines do.

…His command post at the power plant was hit by heavy fire from a Japanese cruiser and destroyer, firing at very close range on a moonlit night with excellent visibility. At about 9:35 p.m., the mortar came screaming in through the air vent and exploded inside the station. Lieutenant Cannon was struck by shell fragments, crushing his pelvis, severing his femoral artery, and braking both the tibia and fibula in his left leg.

Cannon was among the first to be wounded in the attack, but refused to be evacuated, instead overseeing the evacuation of his wounded men, re-establishing command of his post in the face of his imminent death, and ensuring that communications were restored at the station, while the attack on the power station continued.

Finally, he was forcibly removed and given medical attention.

But because of the length of time he remained at his post with such severe arterial bleeding, he bled to death at about 10:15 p.m., about 40 minutes after the attack.

Marine Corps Lt George Cannon, for his refusal to evacuate until his men were safe, would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

For distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage, and disregard of his own condition during the bombardment of Sand Island, Midway Islands, by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Lieutenant Cannon, Battery Commander of Battery “H,” Sixth Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, U. S. Marine Corps, was at his Command Post when he was mortally wounded by enemy shell fire. He refused to be evacuated from his post until after his men, who had been wounded by the same shell were evacuated, and directed the reorganization of his Command Post until forcibly removed, and as a result of his utter disregard of his own condition he died from loss of blood.

/s/ Franklin D. Roosevelt

And on a terribly sad note, not only on a mother’s horrific loss – and there were legions of those yet to come – but on communication during that war and the fog of any war…

“How did she know” her boy was gone when even HQ Marine Corps didn’t know yet.
Tears your heart out.
God bless them, every one.
Always remember.
Semper Fidelis"