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| Water Tenderer Second Class Elmer Bigelow from the USS Fletcher was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8544926/elmer-charles-bigelow http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/445.htm |
Elmer Charles Bigelow never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on July 12, 1920 in Hebron, Illinois. His parents Albert and Vera were born in Indiana and Illinois, respectively. His father worked as a factory laborer and later as an odd jobs laborer. Still later he worked as a pipe fitter. Elmer had one younger brother. By 1940 he had completed four years of high school and had moved out on his own.
He enlisted in the navy in September 1942. He eventual became a water-tenderer second class on the destroyer USS Fletcher. Fletcher had a storied war record that included 15 battle stars in World War II and 5 more for the Korean War. Elmer joined Fletcher in June 1943.
Fletcher was part of the American effort to return to the Philippines and played a part in operations there beginning in October 1944.
On February 14, 1945 Fletcher was hit by an enemy shell that penetrated one of her magazines, a major threat that create secondary explosions that could doom the ship. Recognizing that taking time to grab a breathing apparatus would take extra time, Elmer grabbed two fire extinguishers and ran into the toxic fumes to douse the fire. His efforts saved the ship but he seared his lungs and died of his wounds the next day, February 15, 1945.
Elmer Bigelow was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. His citation reads 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.
His grave is at Linn-Hebron Cemetery in Hebron, Illinois.
The destroyer USS Bigelow (DD-942) was named in his honor in 1957.
This is one of the final 100 stories (53) to be written as part of this project which ends on September 2, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. At that time more than 1,370 men and women will have been profiled. The project will live on in an expanded program to write the stories of all 400,000+ US World War II fallen. Visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org to learn more. We welcome your continued support and interest and encourage you to help write some of these stories.
Last year on this date I profiled Silver Star hero Richard Strehle, 7th Infantry Division. You can read about Richard here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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