William Flores

William Ray Flores was a Seaman Apprentice in the United States Coast Guard. SA Flores was posthumously honored for heroic behavior during a 1980 ship collision. In November 2011, the Coast Guard selected Flores as the namesake of the third of its Sentinel class cutters.

Life
Flores was born and raised in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and, with his parents' permission, left Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas early in order to enlist in his country's service.

On January 28, 1980, 18-year-old Flores stayed aboard the USCGC Blackthorn as it was sinking following a collision with a tanker, Capricorn, and helped save some of his fellow crewmates, at the cost of his own life. Flores and a colleague threw their life jackets to seamen struggling in the water without life jackets. He strapped the life jacket locker open, so remaining life jackets would be released as the vessel sank. He then tried to aid wounded seamen who were still aboard. The collision has been described as the worst peacetime disaster in the Coast Guard's history.

Honors
In 2000, twenty years after the collision, Flores was formally honored for his bravery. Flores was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal. The Coast Guard Medal is the highest non-combat bravery award of the United States Coast Guard.

In November 2011, the Coast Guard named its third Sentinel class cutter USCGC William Flores. All the vessels in this class are to be named after heroic members of the Coast Guard.