Jacob Poroo (December 1, 1938 – June 18, 1968)[1] was a hospital corpsman for the United States Coast Guard who died of burns suffered when fire struck the remote Alaskan base he was assigned to.[2][3]
On 2 June 1968, the recreation hall of the Loran station at Adak, Alaska, started to burn.[4] After Poroo and other men escaped from the burning building, he re-entered it when he thought he heard cries for help.[2][5] 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.
In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, 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.[6][7][8] In 2015 the Coast Guard announced that Jacob Poroo would be the namesake of the 25th cutter, USCGC Jacob L. A. Poroo.[9] She was built in Lockport, Louisiana, at the Bollinger shipyards, 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.[10]
^ ab"Loran Station Adak". Archived from the original on 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-09-14. Fire in old recreation room, HS1 Jacob Lauri Arthur Poroo succumbed to injuries died 18 JUN 1968.
^ ab
U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. "Jacob Lauri Arthur Poroo". Military Times. Archived from the original on 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2017-09-14. His outstanding courage, intrepidity, and unselfish actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Coast Guard.
^
Susan Schept (2010-03-22). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
^"U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
^"FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. 2014-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
^"USCG receives Fast Response Cutter, USCGC Jacob Poroo". Naval Today. 2017-09-07. Archived from the original on 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2017-09-14. This vessel is named after Coast Guard Hero Jacob Poroo. For heroic and courageous action during his efforts to attempt a rescue and respond to a major building fire at the LORAN station in Adak, Alaska in 1968, Poroo was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal.
