UpdatedWed, May 26, 2021 at 5:13 pm ET
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The latest Circle of Heroes statue honors Seaman Apprentice William Flores who died in the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn accident, along with 22 others. The nation s first underwater dive memorial honoring veterans is off the coast of Clearwater, Florida. (Coast Guard)
CLEARWATER, FL It s been 41 years since 18-year-old U.S. Coast Guard Seaman Apprentice William R. Flores died, along with 22 shipmates, when the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn and the tanker Capricorn collided near the entrance to Tampa Bay.
The collision was the worst peacetime disaster in Coast Guard history.
Now the young seaman is being memorialized in the waters in which he perished. On Tuesday, a 6-foot statue of Flores was lowered into the waters 10 miles off the coast of Clearwater, the 13th statue in the Circle of Heroes memorial, the nation s first underwater dive memorial honoring veterans.
By Gordon Byrd
May 26, 2021
CLEARWATER A Coast Guardsman who gave his life in the worst peacetime disaster in the history of his service is now honored in an underwater dive memorial honoring American Veterans.
Seaman Apprentice William R. Flores was just 18 when the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn collided with the tanker Capricorn in 1980, and was among the 23 Coast Guard personnel who lost their lives.
Although he didn t survive the collision, Flores saved many lives by staying on board to help free as many shipmates as he could. He used his own belt to keep the lifejacket locker door open, allowing jackets to float to the surface. He was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal, the service s highest award for peacetime service.