Milton Ernest Ricketts

Who was Milton Ernest Ricketts?

Milton Ernest Ricketts was a United States Navy officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Ricketts graduated from the Baltimore City College high school and then from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1935 and subsequently served on the USS Ranger and USS Yorktown . On May 8, 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Lieutenant Ricketts was in charge of a damage control party on board the Yorktown. When a Japanese bomb exploded among his group, he successfully undertook fire-fighting measures despite having received mortal wounds. For this act, Ricketts was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Ricketts was buried at sea; his name appears on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.