Diving in Darkness: PO2 Owen F.P. Hammerberg

Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.

Owen Francis Patrick Hammerberg was born on May 31st, 1920. He grew up in Michigan, and dropped out before finishing high school. Instead of finishing school, he hitchhiked west, eventually landing work at a ranch. He enlisted in the Navy in July 1941 at the age of 21.

Hammerberg was first assigned to the USS Idaho, a destroyer, and then the USS Advent, a minesweeper. While working on the Advent, one of the ship’s cables became entangled with a mine. Hammerberg dove into the water and freed the cable, successfully preventing the mine’s detonation. Having shown the bravery and skill required for diving, Hammerberg attended Deep Sea Diving School later that year. After completing the training, then Petty Officer 2nd Class Hammerberg was assigned to Pacific Fleet Salvage Unit 1 in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In February 1945, the Navy needed to clear the shipwrecks that were blocking the West Loch of Pearl Harbor. Five dive teams were tasked with raising the sunken ships, and Hammerberg was among them. On February 17th, his team raised their assigned hulk without issue, but not everyone was so lucky. During the dive, two men from another team were trapped in steel cables underneath their assigned ship. Their teammates made an initial attempt at a rescue, but they were unsuccessful. Since the vessel was lodged 20 feet deep in mud, their efforts only muddied the water. With the possibility of cave-ins, debris that could rip open a diver’s air supply, and zero visibility, further rescue attempts were so dangerous that a special diving team wouldn’t risk it. Instead, the Navy looked for volunteers, and Hammerberg stepped up. He dove into the darkness and began searching for the trapped divers. He eventually found the first, George Fuller, pinned by a steel plate. Hammerberg wrestled the man free, and Fuller swam up to the surface safely. It took Hammerberg five hours to find and rescue Fuller, so once he had, he was exhausted. Nevertheless, Hammerberg continued searching for Earl Brown, the other diver. Thirteen hours later, he finally found Brown underneath a pile of wreckage. After he began helping Brown, the debris caved in, causing a heavy piece of steel to fall. In that moment, Hammerberg was pinned down on top of Brown and crushed to death, but because he softened the impact of the metal, Brown survived.

Brown remained trapped underwater for another two days before he was rescued by a Filipino father-and-son dive team. They also rescued Hammerberg’s body.

On February 16th, 1946, Petty Officer Second Class Owen F.P. Hammerberg was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Thanks to his courage, both George Fuller and Earl Brown lived to see another day. Hammerberg was the only Navy Diver to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II.

The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.

Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.

We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.