Elmer Charles 11 BIGELOW
16164.41354.1 Elmer Charles 11 Bigelow,
son of Verna 10 Bigelow (see below) (Charles Henry 9, Charles F. 8 , Edmund Clark 7 , Jonathan Oakes 6, Nathan 5 , John 4 , Joshua 3, Joshua 2, John 1) and Unknown,
was born 12 July 1920 at Hebron, IL. He died 15 February 1945 during
WWII. (see below)
Water Tender Second Class Elmer
Charles
Bigelow, USNR, (1920-1945)
Elmer Charles Bigelow was born in Hebron, Illinois, on 12 July
1920.
He enlisted in the Naval Reserve at Chicago in September 1942 and
received
training at Great Lakes, Illinois, and Lawrence, Kansas, before being
assigned
as a Fireman Third Class on board the destroyer Fletcher
(DD-445) in June 1943. While serving in that ship, he advanced
in
rate to Water Tender Second Class. On 14 February 1945, while assisting
minesweeping
operations prior to landings on Manila Bay's Corregidor Island,
Fletcher
was hit by an enemy shell and set afire. Bigelow heroically fought the
blaze,
contributing greatly to saving his ship, but was badly injured and died
the
next day . Water Tender Second Class Bigelow was posthumously awarded
the
Medal of Honor for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity".
The destroyer USS Bigelow
(DD-942),
1957-1990, was named in honor of Water Tender Second Class Elmer
Charles
Bigelow.
Medal of Honor citation of Water Tender Second Class Elmer Charles
Bigelow
(as printed in the official publication "Medal of Honor, 1861-1949, The
Navy",
page 158):
"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, 14 February 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."
(left) USS Fletcher (DD-445
(right) USS Bigelow (DD-942
Sources:
Bigelow Family Genealogy Volume II;;
Linn-Hebron cemetery Records;
US Navy Records;
New educated guesses:
The USS Bigelow (DD-942) was built by the Bath Iron Works
Corporation at Bath in Maine. The ship was launched by Mrs. Verna
B. Perry, mother of Elmer C. Bigelow. Verna Bigelow and William
Perry are buried in the same cemetery as Elmer Charles. (Elmer may have
been born before Verna was married, so he was given the surname
"Bigelow"
Modified - 01/15/2015
(c) Copyright 2015 Bigelow Society, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Rod Bigelow - Director
rodbigelow@netzero.net
Rod Bigelow (Roger Jon12 BIGELOW)
Box 13 Chazy Lake
Dannemora, N.Y. 12929
rodbigelow@netzero.net 
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