Irving Wiltsie Irving Day Wiltsie ( 14 November 1898 – 24 November 1943 ) was an officer in the United States Navy . Biography . Born in Hartford , Connecticut , Wiltsie graduated in the United States Naval Academy class of 1921 . He then served at sea in a succession of ships , including " Arizona " ( BB - 39 ) , " Wyoming " ( BB - 32 ) , " Raleigh " ( CL - 7 ) , and " Cleveland " ( CL - 21 ) . Next he underwent flight instruction at NAS Pensacola , Florida , from 1925 to 1927 and was designated as a Naval Aviator . He subsequently served in seaplane aviation units embarked aboard " Milwaukee " ( CL - 5 ) , " Memphis " ( CL - 13 ) , and " Texas " ( BB - 35 ) before he returned to NAS Pensacola as an instructor . After another tour of sea duty — in " Louisville " ( CA - 28 ) — Wiltsie commanded the Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Minneapolis , Minnesota , from 29 June 1935 to 4 June 1937 . He later commanded the bombing squadrons attached to " Saratoga " ( CV - 3 ) from June 1937 to June 1939 , before he served at the Naval Air Station San Diego , California . He subsequently joined " Yorktown " ( CV - 5 ) as navigator on 27 June 1941 and received a promotion to commander on 1 July . Wiltsie remained in " Yorktown " until her loss at the pivotal Battle of Midway from 4 to 6 June 1942 . During the early stages of the action , Wiltsie displayed " outstanding professional ability " as he provided complete and accurate navigational information to air plot , thus enabling the carrier ' s air group to pinpoint their targets . During the Japan ese torpedo attacks on 4 June , when " Kates " from the carrier " Hiryū " located " Yorktown " and carried put a successful attack against her , Wiltsie , on instructions from the captain , conned the ship from his battle station in the conning tower and was later deemed directly responsible for the ship ' s evading a pair of torpedoes . When injuries sustained during the attack incapacitated the carrier ' s executive officer , Comdr . Wiltsie assumed these duties and directed the organization of a salvage party which fought valiantly to save the ship . When " Yorktown " eventually succumbed to her damage and the coup de grace administered by Japanese submarine I - 168 , Wiltsie coolly and calmly directed the salvage party and the wounded to rescuing vessels alongside the doomed carrier . Wiltsie — promoted to captain in September 1942 — commanded " Albemarle " ( AV - 5 ) from 6 October 1942 to 12 June 1943 . After this tour , he supervised the fitting - out of escort carrier " Glacier " ( CVE - 33 ) at the Seattle - Tacoma Shipbuilding Co . and went on to supervise the same kind of activities of " Liscome Bay " ( CVE - 56 ) . Wiltsie would command this escort carrier until the ship ' s loss off Makin , in the Gilbert Islands , in the autumn of 1943 . In the predawn darkness of 24 November 1943 , I - 175 torpedoed " Liscome Bay " — the flagship of Rear Admiral Henry M . Mullinnix — and started fires among bombs and ammunition . Fed by aviation gasoline , the flames spread rapidly , and the carrier rocked with explosions . Wiltsie immediately left the bridge and proceeded along the starboard gallery deck level to ascertain the damage to his ship , as communications had been severed early - on . Despite the tremendous structural damage and raging fires , the captain bravely headed aft to determine the full extent of the damage . Damage control efforts failed , however , and the carrier sank soon thereafter , carrying the intrepid Wiltsie , Admiral Mullinix , and 644 officers and men down with her . The citation for Capt . Wiltsie ' s posthumous Navy Cross noted his " calm , courageous action and valiant devotion to duty " which inspired the surviving members of the crew . Namesake . USS " Wiltsie " ( DD - 716 ) was named for him . References . Noles , James L . ( 2004 ) . " Twenty - Three Minutes to Eternity : The Final Voyage of the Escort Carrier USS Liscome Bay " , University of Alabama Press .