Philadelphia Inquirer

Greater love has no man than this,

to lay down one’s life for his friends.

—John 15:13

Shipfitter 3rd Class Wilbur Rhodes of Mercer, Pennsylvania perished while saving eleven shipmates when the destroyer USS Jacob Jones was torpedoed off Cape May, NJ on 28 February 1942. More details about his final actions can be found here. He is also portrayed in Ch. 8 of Killing Shore.

Despite numerous eyewitnesses, “Dusty” was never nominated for a posthumous valor award—an omission I intend to set right. You can help by signing the petition and sharing it with others:

Change.org petition

I’m also seeking assistance in getting this in front of the DoD. A few political levers are already being leveraged, but this will be an uphill fight. Please reach out if you think you could be of assistance.