Jacob Poroo (December 1, 1938 – June 18, 1968) was a hospital corpsman for the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

who died of burns suffered when fire struck the remote

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

n base he was assigned to. On 2 June 1968, the recreation hall of the Loran station at Adak,

, started to burn. After Poroo and other men escaped from the burning building, he re-entered it when he thought he heard cries for help. After he had been terribly burned, a head count determined that no one was missing. A Coast Guard account of the event records that, even though he was horribly burned himself, Poroo guided uninjured men in how to properly care for those who had been burned. Poroo died on June 18, 1968.

Legacy

A posthumous

Coast Guard Medal The Coast Guard Medal is a decoration of the United States military that is awarded to any service member who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Coast Guard, distinguishes themselves by heroism not involving actual conflict wi ...

was awarded to Poroo. In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

's most senior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism. In 2015 the Coast Guard announced that Jacob Poroo would be the namesake of the 25th cutter, USCGC ''Jacob L. A. Poroo''. She was built in Lockport,

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, at the

Bollinger shipyards Bollinger Shipyards is an American constructor of ships, workboats and patrol vessels. Its thirteen shipyards and forty drydocks are located in Louisiana and Texas. Its drydocks range in capacity from vessels of 100 tons displacement to 22,000 t ...

, and delivered to the Coast Guard on September 5, 2017. After completing her sea trials, the cutter was commissioned in December 2017.

Coast Guard Medal citation

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Coast Guard Medal (Posthumously) to Hospital Corpsman First Class Jacob Lauri Arthur Poroo, United States Coast Guard, for heroism on the morning of June 2, 1968 when he entered a burning cabin to attempt a rescue on Adak Island, Adak, Alaska. When fire erupted about 3:30 a.m. engulfing the doorway of the old recreation building, Petty Officer Poroo, together with seven other men, successfully escaped. Hearing shouting and believing it to be a cry for help form a trapped companion, he unhesitatingly re-entered the flaming cabin to render assistance with complete disregard for his own safety. Petty Officer Poroo received second and third degree burns over 75 percent of his body before he finally left the burning building, assured that his companions were safe. He then calmly gave sound medical advice to his injured companions until help arrived. Petty Officer Poroo later succumbed to his injuries. His outstanding courage, intrepidity, and unselfish actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poroo, Jacob 1938 births 1968 deaths United States Coast Guard non-commissioned officers Recipients of the Coast Guard Medal Deaths from fire in the United States