Medal of Honor: Thomas John Ryan, Great Kanto Earthquake, Japan, September 1, 1923
In the ruins of Yokohama after the devastating 1923 earthquake, one young U.S. Navy officer braved fire and collapse to save a trapped civilian. Ensign Thomas John Ryan risked his life to carry a woman out of the burning Grand Hotel, his heroism standing
September 2, 2025
Name: Thomas John Ryan
War/Conflict: Peacetime (Great Kanto Earthquake, Japan)
Date of Action: September 1, 1923
Branch/Unit: U.S. Navy, Ensign
Birth: August 5, 1901, New Orleans, Louisiana
Summary of Action
On September 1, 1923, one of the worst natural disasters of the 20th century struck Japan—the Great Kanto Earthquake. The quake and its aftermath leveled much of Tokyo and Yokohama, igniting massive fires that swept through the cities. Among the structures in flames was the Grand Hotel of Yokohama, where terrified civilians were trapped.
Ensign Thomas J. Ryan, then just 22 years old and serving with the U.S. Navy in port, heard of the danger and rushed into the inferno. The building was crumbling, the fire spreading quickly, but Ryan disregarded his own safety. Inside the burning wreckage, he found a woman pinned and unable to escape. Through smoke, heat, and collapsing timbers, Ryan dragged her out of the flames, saving her life when others had no chance to reach her.
His act was not part of a battlefield engagement, but rather a moment of human courage in the face of disaster. For his heroism, Ryan was awarded the Medal of Honor, presented personally by President Calvin Coolidge at the White House on March 15, 1924.
Medal of Honor Citation
Citation:
For heroism in effecting the rescue of a woman from the burning Grand Hotel, Yokohama, Japan, on 1 September 1923. Following the earthquake and fire which occurred in Yokohama on 1 September, Ens. Ryan, with complete disregard for his own life, extricated a woman from the Grand Hotel, thus saving her life. His heroic conduct upon this occasion reflects the greatest credit on himself and on the U.S. Navy, of which he is a part. (Medal presented by President Coolidge at the White House on 15 March 1924.)
