Peter Tomich
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| Peter Tomich | |
|---|---|
| June 3, 1893 – December 7, 1941 | |
  Peter Tomich's Medal of Honor, front and back |
|
| Place of birth | Prolog, Austria-Hungary |
| Place of death | KIA at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| Allegiance | United States Army United States Navy |
| Years of service | during World War I (Army) 1919 – 1941 (Navy) |
| Rank | Chief Watertender (Navy) |
| Unit | USS Litchfield (DD-336) USS Utah (AG-16) |
| Battles/wars | Attack on Pearl Harbor |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
Peter Tomich (June 3, 1893 – December 7, 1941) was an ethnic Croat born in Prolog near Ljubuški, Austria-Hungary, in what later became Bosnia and Herzegovina. During World War I he served in the US Army. After enlisting in the United States Navy in January 1919, he initially served in the destroyer Litchfield (DD-336).
By 1941, he had become a Chief Watertender on board the training and target ship Utah (AG-16). 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. Tomich was on duty in a boiler room. As Utah began to capsize, he remained below, securing the boilers and making certain that other men escaped, and so lost his life. For his "distinguished conduct and extraordinary courage" at that time, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His Medal of Honor was on display at the Navy's Senior Enlisted Academy (Tomich Hall) until it was posthumously awarded to members of his family on 18 May 2006, aboard the USS Enterprise in the Adriatic Sea, off the coast of Croatia.
The destroyer escort USS Tomich (DE-242), 1943–1974, was named in honor of Chief Watertender Tomich.
