Honoring Lt. George H. Cannon, USMC, on Medal of Honor Day
On December 7, 1941, 1st LT George H. Cannon, age 26, was assigned platoon leader of Battery H, 6th Defense Battalion on a critical power station on Sand Island near Midway. In addition to his duties as platoon leader, Cannon was on a task force to try to decode intercepted Japanese messages.
On the same night as the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Japanese destroyers launched a ferocious attack against Sand Island, intending to cripple the island’s airfield and provide safe passage to...