Elmer Charles Bigelow Elmer Charles Bigelow ( July 12 , 1920 – February 15 , 1945 ) was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of America ' s highest military decoration , the Medal of Honor . Biography . Elmer Charles Bigelow was born in Hebron , Illinois , on July 12 , 1920 . He was the son of Albert Dewey Bigelow ( son of Senaca and Isabelle Angeline ( née Hamilton ) Bigelow ) and Verna Grabbert ( daughter of Charles Grabbert and Minnie Puttresse who were both born in Germany ) . * ( See : http : / / www . findagrave . com / cgi - bin / fg . cgi ? page = gr & GRid = 91266360 ) * He enlisted in the Naval Reserve at Chicago , Illinois in September 1942 and received training at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago , Illinois , and at Lawrence , Kansas , before being assigned as a Fireman Third Class on board the destroyer in June 1943 . While serving in that ship , he advanced in rate to watertender second class . On February 14 , 1945 , Bigelow ' s actions averted tragedy on board the USS " Fletcher " . While assisting minesweeping operations prior to landings on Manila Bay ' s Corregidor Island , " Fletcher " was hit by an enemy shell which penetrated the No . 1 gun magazine , igniting several powder cases . Bigelow picked up a pair of fire extinguisher s and rushed below in a resolute attempt to quell the raging flames . Refusing to waste the precious time required to don rescue - breathing apparatus , Bigelow plunged through the blinding smoke billowing out of the magazine hatch and dropped into the blazing compartment . Despite the acrid , burning powder smoke which seared his lungs , he succeeded in quickly extinguishing the fires and in cooling the cases and bulkheads , thereby preventing further damage to the ship . However Bigelow was badly injured and succumbed to his injuries the following day . Bigelow was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his " conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity " . Bigelow was buried in Linn - Hebron Cemetery in Hebron , Illinois . Namesake . The destroyer , 1957 – 1990 , was named in his honor . Medal of Honor citation . Elmer Bigelow ' s official Navy Medal of Honor citation is as follows : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving on board the U . S . S . " Fletcher " during action against enemy Japanese forces off Corregidor Island in the Philippines , February 14 , 1945 . Standing topside when an enemy shell struck the " Fletcher " , BIGELOW , acting instantly as the deadly projectile exploded into fragments which penetrated the No . 1 gun magazine and set fire to several powder cases , picked up a pair of fire extinguishers and rushed below in a resolute attempt to quell the raging flames . Refusing to waste the precious time required to don rescue - breathing apparatus , he plunged through the blinding smoke billowing out of the magazine hatch and dropped into the blazing compartment . Despite the acrid , burning powder smoke which seared his lungs with every agonizing breath , he worked rapidly and with instinctive sureness and succeeded in quickly extinguishing the fires and in cooling the cases and bulkheads , thereby preventing further damage to the stricken ship . Although he succumbed to his injuries on the following day , BIGELOW , by his dauntless valor , unfaltering skill and prompt action in the critical emergency , had averted a magazine explosion which undoubtedly would have left his ship wallowing at the mercy of the furiously pounding Japanese guns on Corregidor , and his heroic spirit of self - sacrifice in the face of almost certain death enhanced and sustained the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service . He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country .