Daniel Judson Callaghan was a United States Navy officer who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. In a three-decades-long career, he served his country in two wars. Callaghan served on several ships during his first 20 years of service, including escort duties during World War I, and also filled some shore-based administrative roles. He later came to the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed Callaghan as his naval aide in 1938. A few years later, he returned to command duties during the early stages of World War II. An enemy shell killed Callaghan on the bridge of his flagship, USS San Francisco, during a surface action against a larger Japanese force off Savo Island. He was the third of five US Navy admirals killed in battle during WWII, including: Isaac C. Kidd ; Norman Scott ; Henry M. Mullinnix ; and Theodore E. Chandler.
Callaghan on the bridge of USS San Francisco in 1942
USS Truxtun was Callaghan's second posting, and later became his first command
USS San Francisco off the Korean coast in 1945
USS Idaho during battle practice around 1930
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, The Night of the Big Guns, or, in Japanese sources, the Third Battle of the Solomon Sea , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942 and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allied and Imperial Japanese forces during the months-long Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands during World War II. The action consisted of combined air and sea engagements over four days, most near Guadalcanal and all related to a Japanese effort to reinforce land forces on the island. The only two U.S. Navy admirals to be killed in a surface engagement in the war were lost in this battle.
Smoke rises from two Japanese aircraft shot down off Guadalcanal on 12 November 1942; ship at right is USS Betelgeuse
Aerial view of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, late August 1942. The view looks northwest with the Lunga River and Lunga Point at the top of the image.
The aftermath of the "Betty" medium bomber crashing into the heavy cruiser San Francisco on 12 November 1942.
Position of Japanese and U.S. ships at 01:45 on 13 November