Radio Electrician Thomas James Reeves, a sailor in the U.S. Navy, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for gallantry on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory during World War II. At the time he was serving with U.S.S. California. Reeves was 45 years old.
Reeves was killed in the action for which his medal was awarded. 16 other service members also received the Medal of Honor for actions on the same day. The medal was presented on March 1942. Medal of Honor mailed to his brother's home in Thomaston, CT, by Secretary of the Navy William F. Knox.
Reeves was born on December 9, 1895 in Thomaston, Litchfield County, Connecticut. His Medal of Honor is credited to Connecticut. He is buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Reeves is one of 474 Medal of Honor recipients from World War II and one of 57 credited to Connecticut.
Official Medal of Honor citation
For distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage, and disregard of his own safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. After the mechanized ammunition hoists were put out of action on the U.S.S. California, Reeves, on his own initiative, in a burning passageway, assisted in the maintenance of an ammunition supply by hand to the antiaircraft guns until he was overcome by smoke and fire, which resulted in his death.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Wounds and death in action
- Killed in action during the act for which the medal was awarded (December 7, 1941).
- Cause of death: asphyxia
- Age at death: 45
- Resting place: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Cause and manner of death: Wikidata.
Battles and campaigns
Also served in: World War II.
Places
Veteran resources, cemeteries and meeting places in Connecticut →
Timeline
- December 9, 1895Born in Thomaston, Litchfield County, Connecticut
- December 7, 1941Act of valor — Pearl Harbor, Hawaii TerritoryAge 45. U.S.S. California Killed in action.
- March 1942Medal of Honor presented posthumouslyMedal of Honor mailed to his brother's home in Thomaston, CT, by Secretary of the Navy William F. Knox.
- Resting placeNational Memorial Cemetery of the PacificHonolulu, Hawaii
Biography
Thomas James Reeves, born in Thomaston, Connecticut, December 9, 1895, was a US Navy radioman who became the namesake of the destroyer escort USS Reeves. Reeves was killed during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and posthumously received the Medal of Honor.
From the Wikipedia article “Thomas James Reeves”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article →
Named in his honor
- USS Reeves — destroyer escort
