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Old 05-15-2006, 12:05 PM
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Default Navy to Present Medal of Honor to Family of World War II Vet

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By Lt. Chris Servello, USN
Special to American Forces Press Service

SPLIT, Croatia, May 11, 2006 - The Croatian family of a U.S. Navy enlisted man will accept a posthumous Medal of Honor here next week for the man's heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Navy Adm. Harry Ulrich, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, will present a posthumously awarded Medal of Honor to the family of Chief Watertender Peter Tomich at a ceremony May 18. Retired Croatian army Lt. Col. Srecko Herceg Tonic will receive the U.S. military's highest award on behalf of the Tomich family.

Tomich, a U.S. citizen of Croatian heritage, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was born in 1893 in Prolog, in what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina, on the Croatian border.

After coming to the United States, Tomich enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Slocum, in New Rochelle, N.Y., on June 6, 1917. After service in World War I, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on Jan. 23, 1919, rising to the rank of chief watertender, equivalent to today's chief petty officer.

Tomich was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic actions aboard the battleship USS Utah on Dec. 7, 1941, during the surprise Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

During the attack, USS Utah sustained major damage from a Japanese torpedo and gunfire. Knowing the ship would sink, Tomich returned to his post in the boiler room to evacuate the personnel and keep the boilers from exploding so he could get as many men as possible out alive before the ship sank. Tomich sacrificed his own life to save the lives of his shipmates.

The destroyer USS Tomich was named in his honor in 1943, and the Navy's Senior Enlisted Academy in Newport, R.I., is housed in Tomich Hall.

(Navy Lt. Chris Servello is assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Europe and 6th Fleet.)


Related Site:

U.S. Naval Forces Europe and 6th Fleet [http://www.c6f.navy.mil/Default.asp?P=ContactUs]
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  #2  
Old 05-15-2006, 01:31 PM
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Wow Why did it take this long to give him recognition?
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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Old 05-15-2006, 10:55 PM
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Butch1940
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Posted Sun 14 May 2006 06:03
RE: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,97017,00.html
Well good for him. Tell me why it takes so damn
long for these people to get these awards that
they have earned.
Posts: 57 | Registered: Thu 28 December 2000

Kehmina
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Posted Sun 14 May 2006 06:24
The criteria surrounding the presenting of our nation's highest award is very stringent.
Sometimes the Medal of Honor is presented within a couple of years after the heroic action, sometimes it's presented a couple of decades later.
It's just a matter of investigating and compiling all of the facts...eyewitnesses, after-action reports, et al...the investigation process is extremely thorough.
You are invited to go to this site: www.medalofhonor.com
This site is jam-packed with any and all information that will help you out.
Posts: 139 | Registered: Tue 25 April 2006

1863848
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Posted Mon 15 May 2006 09:53
It was a different time and I am glad to see that they are not totally forgotten!
Posts: 3 | Registered: Wed 20 July 2005

http://forums.military.com/groupee/f.../9600007760001



*TOMICH, PETER

Rank and organization: Chief Watertender, U.S. Navy. Born: 3 June 1893, Prolog, Austria. Accredited to: New Jersey. Citation: For distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, and extraordinary courage and disregard of his own safety, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor by the Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. Although realizing that the ship was capsizing, as a result of enemy bombing and torpedoing, Tomich remained at his post in the engineering plant of the U.S.S. Utah, until he saw that all boilers were secured and all fireroom personnel had left their stations, and by so doing lost his own life .

http://www.medalofhonor.com/WorldWarIIT-U.htm
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Old 05-16-2006, 09:24 AM
Robert J Ryan
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God 60 some odd years later. Someone dropped the ball on this one somewhere.
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Old 05-16-2006, 12:47 PM
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Well I should say my Grandpa got his medals 50+ years after WWI and he was grateful he was still alive to get them. He was pumped up during the event. I now have his medals and I treasure them dearly.
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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Old 05-17-2006, 09:42 PM
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lincolntom
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posted 05-15-2006 12:32 PM
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God bless him.

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Jesus Saves

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Tiny
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posted 05-15-2006 04:54 PM
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quote:
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Originally posted by lincolntom:
God bless him.
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Ditto.

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Have a Great Day and God Bless.

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AlabamaSwamper
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posted 05-15-2006 05:30 PM
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FInally, an immigrant we can all be proud of!

He definately deserves this award.

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" Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all.
We have room for but one flag, the American flag.We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907

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Posts: 1483 | From: Deer Heaven, Turkey heaven and all points in between. | Registered: Jun 2004 | IP: Logged |
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Old 05-18-2006, 07:50 PM
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My Cousin Buddy Haas(who passed away easter week from Emphysema) who served in WW2 in the South Pacific fighting the Nipponese got his leg nearly shot off at the Battle of Okinawa. He didn't get his medals including a Purple Heart till last year.His Son my Cousin Gary Hass (of Martinez,GA) was a Naval Nuclear Engineer on Subs did all the leg work and then getting our Missouri Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson to present him with the 9 medals and ribbons including the 2nd Purple Heart and Bronze Star he received for his actions serving with the 77th Division. I know from my Cousin that records get misplaced during wartime and when folks get discharged for injuries received in Battle. Always good to hear about a veteran getting his awards and medals before they pass on to their great reward in Heaven.
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