STREET, GEORGE LEVICK, III - Medal of Honor Recipient
Rank and organization: Commander, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Tirante.
Place and Date:
Harbor of Quelpart Island, off the coast of Korea, 14 April 1945.
Entered service at: Virginia. Birth: 27 July 1913, Richmond, Va. Other Navy
awards: Navy Cross, Silver Star with 1 Gold Star. Citation. For conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the
call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Tirante during the first
war patrol of that vessel against enemy Japanese surface forces in the
harbor of Quelpart Island, off the coast of Korea, on 14 April 1945. With
the crew at surface battle stations, Comdr. (then Lt. Comdr.) Street approached
the hostile anchorage from the south within 1,200 yards of the coast to
complete a reconnoitering circuit of the island. Leaving the 10-fathom
curve far behind he penetrated the mined and shoal-obstructed waters of
the restricted harbor despite numerous patrolling vessels and in defiance
of 5 shore-based radar stations and menacing aircraft. Prepared to fight
it out on the surface if attacked, Comdr. Street went into action, sending
2 torpedoes with deadly accuracy into a large Japanese ammunition ship
and exploding the target in a mountainous and blinding glare of white flames.
With the Tirante instantly spotted by the enemy as she stood out plainly
in the flare of light, he ordered the torpedo data computer set up while
retiring and fired his last 2 torpedoes to disintegrate in quick succession
the leading frigate and a similar flanking vessel. Clearing the gutted
harbor at emergency full speed ahead, he slipped undetected along the shoreline,
diving deep as a pursuing patrol dropped a pattern of depth charges at
the point of submergence. His illustrious record of combat achievement
during the first war patrol of the Tirante characterizes Comdr. Street
as a daring and skilled leader and reflects the highest credit upon himself,
his valiant command, and the U.S. Naval Service.
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