Edwin J . Hill Edwin Joseph Hill ( October 4 , 1894 - December 7 , 1941 ) , was a United States Navy sailor who was stationed on the during the attack on Pearl Harbor , Hawaii on December 7 , 1941 . He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle . Hill is most noted for having released the USS " Nevada " from its mooring , and then as the battleship began to steam away , jumping into the harbor , swimming after the ship , and then climbing up the battleship onto its deck to continue the fight . Early life . Hill ' s birth records indicate that he was born October 4 , 1894 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; however his family was from the island of Saba in the Lesser Antilles . Military career . Hill enlisted in the United States Navy in 1912 , rising to the rank of Chief Boatswain . He is a first cousin to Captain ( later Rear Admiral ) Herman J . Kossler , commander of the submarine during World War II and a recipient of the Navy Cross and three Silver Stars . During the December 7 , 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , he was serving on board . The " Nevada " was the only battleship that morning to attempt to make its way out of Pearl Harbor . In the midst of the attack , Hill led the ship ' s line - handling detail in casting off from the quays alongside Ford Island so that " Nevada " could get underway . In particular , Hill is noted for having dived off the back of the " Nevada " into the harbor , climbing onto the dock to release the battleship from its mooring , diving back into the harbor to swim after the ship as it steamed away , and climbing back up the " Nevada " to resume his duties onboard during the attack . Hill was attempting to drop anchor at the end of the battleship ' s brief sortie when he was killed by enemy bombs that struck the bow of the ship , claiming the lives of Hill and 46 other " Nevada " crewmen . Hill ' s body was found impacted with bullet wounds , suggesting that he may have been killed by gunfire ; whether or not these wounds were sustained before or after the bomb blast will never be known ; his Medal of Honor citation reports the bomb blast as being the cause of death . Several surviving " Nevada " crewmen , who at time were young men of 18 and 19 years old , credit Hill with saving their lives by ordering them during the action to take protective cover behind the ship ' s gun turrets . ( Presumably the veteran Hill recognized that these younger sailors , being completely mentally unprepared for a sudden full - scale sneak attack , would have been at great risk of becoming " cannon fodder " , prompting his order for them to take cover . ) These former sailors mention that Hill , who was 47 years old at the time of the attack and had 30 years of naval service , had a level of respect on par with the captain of the " Nevada " himself . For his heroism during the Pearl Harbor action , Chief Boatswain Hill posthumously received the Medal of Honor . He is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific ( plot A - 895 ) in Honolulu , Hawaii . His grave can be found in section A , grave 895 . Namesake . In 1943 , the United States Navy named a destroyer escort in his honor . Medal of Honor citation . Medal of Honor citation : For distinguished conduct in the line of his profession , extraordinary courage , and disregard of his own safety during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor , by Japanese forces on December 7 , 1941 . During the height of the strafing and bombing , Chief Boatswain Hill led his men of the linehandling details of the U . S . S . Nevada to the quays , cast off the lines and swam back to his ship . Later , while on the forecastle , attempting to let go the anchors , he was blown overboard and killed by the explosion of several bombs .