Mervyn sharp bennion biography for kids
Mervyn sharp bennion biography for kids
Biography for kids video.
Mervyn S. Bennion
US Navy Medal of Honor recipient (1887–1941)
Mervyn Sharp Bennion (May 5, 1887 – December 7, 1941) was a United States Navy captain who served during World War I and was killed while he was in command of battleshipUSS West Virginia during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II.
He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard of his own life."
Family background
Bennion was born in Vernon, Utah Territory on May 5, 1887.
The religion of the family, which he shared, was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His Welsh grandfather, John Bennion, had immigrated to Utah with the Mormon pioneers and established successful cattle operations near Taylorsville, Utah.
Bennion was living near Preston, Idaho when he received his acceptance to the United States Naval Academy. Bennion graduated third in his 1910 class from the academy.[1] His Naval