I Was Chaplain on the Franklin

I Was Chaplain on the Franklin by O'Callahan, Father J.. mass_market edition. ISBN: 9780553247213.

His account of how the carrier, "Franklin", set on fire by the Japanese, managed to stay afloat, put out its fires, and get under way. Father OCallahan was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions onboard the USS Franklin March 19th, 1945, his book describes his point of view of that day. It was an easy read and with some elements of religion (after Father OCallahan was a Jesuit)but mostly a modest version of what happened. Like many other Medal of Honor awardees he was modest that he was merely a caretaker of the medal for the others whose actions were not recognized. He showed great leadership but placed the trust the sailors put in him because of his helmet which had a cross on the helmet. I think this is the core of his modesty the sailors followed Fr. OCallahan through Hell because he was a role model of serenity in chaos.