When the USS Franklin (CV-13) was bombed near the coast of Japan on 19 March 1945, countless acts of bravery, heroism, and self-sacrifice followed, many of which were later recognized. The men of the Franklin became the most decorated crew in U.S. naval history. Among them, Father Joseph T. O’Callahan became the first chaplain to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Lt. Commander Joseph T. O’Callahan’s Medal of Honor Citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as chaplain on board the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy Japanese aircraft during offensive operations near Kobe, Japan, on 19 March 1945. A valiant and forceful leader, calmly braving the perilous barriers of flame and twisted metal to aid his men and his ship, Lt. Comdr. O’Callahan groped his way through smoke-filled corridors to the open flight deck and into the midst of violently exploding bombs, shells, rockets, and other armament. With the ship rocked by incessant explosions, with debris and fragments raining down and fires raging in ever-increasing fury, he ministered to the wounded and dying, comforting and encouraging men of all faiths; he organized and led firefighting crews into the blazing inferno on the flight deck; he directed the jettisoning of live ammunition and the flooding of the magazine; he manned a hose to cool hot, armed bombs rolling dangerously on the listing deck, continuing his efforts, despite searing, suffocating smoke which forced men to fall back gasping and imperiled others who replaced them. Serving with courage, fortitude, and deep spiritual strength, Lt. Comdr. O’Callahan inspired the gallant officers and men of the Franklin to fight heroically and with profound faith in the face of almost certain death and to return their stricken ship to port.
Joseph O’Callahan was born on 14 May 1905 in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from Boston College High School, he studied at St. Andrew-on-Hudson novitiate in Poughkeepsie, New York and at Weston College (now Weston Jesuit School of Theology) in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of his Jesuit training. He taught physics for two years at Boston College and then returned to Weston College for theological studies.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1934, O’Callahan completed his tertianship at St. Robert’s Hall in Pomfret Center, Connecticut in 1935, followed by a year of special studies at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. In 1937, he was appointed to teach Cosmology at Weston College. A year later he transferred to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts where he taught mathematics and physics. In 1940, he became chair of the Mathematics Department at Holy Cross.
O’Callahan was commissioned in the Chaplain Corps of the U.S. Navy Reserve on 7 August 1940 as a Lieutenant, junior grade, making him the first Jesuit to serve as a Navy chaplain. After teaching calculus at Navel Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, his first deployment at sea was on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4), beginning April 1943. He served on the Ranger for two-and-a-half years in North Africa and Europe, after which he had shore duty at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
O’Callahan, by then a Lieutenant Commander, joined the crew of the USS Franklin on 2 March 1945, only 17 days before the fateful attack. One of the most enduring images from the War in the Pacific is that of Father O’Callahan on 19 March 1945 giving last rites to crewman Robert Blanchard, who ultimately survived.
You can read more about Father O’Callahan in my production Update #9 on the project website, as well as in a blog post by author M Glenn Ross, Joseph O’Callahan, Chaplain of the USS Franklin, Earns the Medal of Honor. Or you can check out and read the online version of his memoir I Was Chaplain On the Franklin.
Much of our work on this film has involved interviewing the children and grandchildren of the men who served aboard Franklin to document the ways their experiences echoed through their families. In the case of Father O’Callahan, a Roman Catholic priest who had no children of his own, we looked to other members of his family.
Father Joe, as he was known by the men on the Franklin and also by his family, returned to the College of the Holy Cross in 1948, this time to teach philosophy. He also lived at the college. About ten years later, one of his nephews, Jay O’Callahan, arrived at Holy Cross as a freshman.
By that time, Father O’Callahan had suffered a stroke and was experiencing serious medical and mobility issues. Though no longer teaching, he still made the trek to his nephew’s dorm room almost every day during Jay’s freshman year. As Father O’Callahan’s health continued to deteriorate, he could no longer make those daily trips. Then it became Jay’s turn to call on his uncle, visiting him in the Jesuit quarters on campus. Jay still cherishes the memories of his time with Father Joe and the lessons he learned from him.
It was these stories and others that Jay shared with us when we interviewed him at his home on the South Shore of Massachusetts. He and his wife Linda welcomed us into their home and the crew set up for an interview in their office: Director of Photography Caleb McLaughlin, Sound Mixer Zach Noblitt, and Production Assistant Scott Ryan.
As there is no known interview footage of Father O’Callahan, at least none that I have been able to locate, we relied on Jay to help paint a portrait of his uncle that we otherwise would not have. A professional storyteller, Jay was able to offer a rich and deeply personal portrayal of Father O’Callahan, providing insight that cannot be found in the written historical record.
If you would like to experience Jay’s work, you can find recordings of some of this stories on his website.
Information Sources:
College of the Holy Cross. “O’Callahan Science Library: Reverend Joseph Timothy O’Callahan.” Accessed 3 January 2026.
https://libguides.holycross.edu/c.php?g=87914&p=567284
Dowling, Richard J., S.J. “Father Joseph Timothy O’Callahan.” Woodstock Letter, Volume XCIII, Number 3, 1 July 1964.
O’Callahan, Joseph T. I Was Chaplain on the Franklin. New York: Macmillan, 1956.
O’Callahan, Jay. Personal interview. 10 November 2025.