Peter tomich family
- Peter tomich award senior enlisted academy
- Peter Tomich was born in Prolog, Austria, in what later became Yugoslavia, on 3 June 1893.
- Peter Tomich was the Chief Watertender for the USS Utah.
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Peter Tomich
US Navy Medal of Honor recipient (1893–1941)
Petar Herceg 'Tonić' (later anglicized as Peter Tomich; June 3, 1893 – December 7, 1941) was a United States Navy sailor of Herzegovinian Croat descent who received the United States military's highest award, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II.[1]
Biography
Tomich was an ethnic Croat from Herzegovina born as Petar Herceg (family nickname 'Tonić') in Prolog near Ljubuški, under Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He immigrated to the United States in 1913 and joined the US Army in 1917.[2]
World War I
Tomich served in the US Army during World War I and enlisted in the US Navy in 1919, where he initially served on the destroyerUSS Litchfield (DD-336).[1]
World War II
Petar Tomich's Medal of Honor, awarded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
By 1941, he had become a chiefwatertender on board the training and target ship USS Utah.[1] On December 7, 1941, while the ship lay in Pearl H
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PETER TOMICH
Excerpt from "Home of Heroes"
Peter Tomich was the Chief Watertender for the USS Utah. He was one of the most experienced...and best...in the entire Pacific fleet. At the age of 48 he had twenty-two years of Naval experience. The Navy was his life...his wife...his family.
The USS Utah was one of the first American ships hit by the Japanese the morning of December 7, 1941. A torpedo slammed into the ship just as the crew was hoisting the American flag on the fantail. (It is often believed that the huge wooden planks covering the ships deck caused trigger-happy Japanese pilots to mistake the Utah for an aircraft carrier, thus making it a prime target.)
Below deck in the engineering plant, water rushed towards the huge boilers. Peter Tomich, ever mindful of his crew, ran to warn them of the impending doom and to issue an order to evacuate. "Get out," he yelled above the horrible noises around him. He could feel the ship sl
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Petar Herceg 'Tonić' (Anglicized as Peter Tomich) (June 3, 1893 – December 7, 1941) was a United States Navy sailor who received the United States military's highest award, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II.[1]
Biography[]
Tomich was an ethnic Croat of Bosnia and Herzegovina born as Petar Herceg, with family nickname 'Tonić', in Prolog near Ljubuški, Austria-Hungary, today Bosnia and Herzegovina. He immigrated to the United States in 1913, and joined the US Army in 1917.[2]
World War I[]
Tomich served in the US Army during World War I, and enlisting in the US Navy in 1919, where he initially served on the destroyerUSS Litchfield (DD-336).[1]
World War II[]
By 1941, he had become a chiefwatertender on board the training and target ship USS Utah.[1] On December 7, 1941, while the ship lay in Pearl Harbor, moored off Ford Island, she was torpedoed during Japan's raid on Pearl Harbor.[1] Tomich was on duty in a boiler room. As Utah began to capsize, he remained below, securing the