SIGN-UP: Get breaking news sent to you
The Coast Guard presented 88-year-old Walter Firestone with a commendation medal in Alameda.
In 1943, Firestone helped fight a fire on a munitions ship docked in New Jersey that was packed with explosives. Had it exploded, much of metropolitan New York might have been destroyed and thousands of people would have died.
Firestone called Tuesday's honor "unexpected." The Coast Guard says it took this long to track him down.
Today's latest headlines |
ABC7 News on your phone
Follow us on Twitter | Fan us on Facebook | Get our free widget
