For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life, during the attack on the fleet in Pearl Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941, Rear Admiral Kidd immediately went to the bridge and, as Commander Battleship Division One, courageously discharged his duties as Senior Officer Present Afloat until the U.S.S. ARIZONA, his Flagship, blew up from magazine explosions and a direct bomb hit which resulted in the loss of his life.