Seaman Apprentice William “Billy” Flores

William “Billy” Flores is a Coast Guard hero who died while saving the lives of many of his shipmates when his cutter sank late in the evening near Tampa, Florida on January 28, 1980. The Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn and the tanker S.S. Capricorn collided near the entrance to Tampa Bay, Florida and the Blackthorn quickly capsized before all the cutter’s crew could abandon ship. Twenty-seven of Flores’ shipmates did escape the sinking ship, thanks in large part to Flores’ heroic actions.

After the ships collided Flores and another crewmember threw lifejackets to their shipmates who had jumped into the water and Flores used his own belt to strap open the lifejacket locker door, allowing additional lifejackets to float to the surface. When his shipmate abandoned ship as the Blackthorn began to submerge, the 19-year-old Flores—who was less than a year out of boot camp and had never gone to sea—remained behind aboard to assist trapped shipmates and to comfort those who were injured and disoriented.

Flores perished in the tragic incident, making the ultimate sacrifice so others might live. He was awarded the Coast Guard Medal, the service’s highest award for heroism in peacetime posthumously on Sept. 16, 2000. The William “Billy” Flores Scholarship of Honor will be awarded annually at his alma mater, Western Hills High School in Fort Worth, Texas and eligible to seniors at Western Hills High only.