Lt. Thomas Crotty is single-handedly responsible for the Philippine Defense battle streamer that today adorns the Coast Guard flag. He was the sole active duty Coast Guardsman who fought the Japanese in the earliest days of World War II at Bataan and Corregidor.
And now he’s finally coming home to Buffalo, N.Y.
Crotty was among thousands of American troops captured when the islands fell to the invading Japanese Army. In wartime, the Coast Guard becomes part of the Navy. He was assigned as the second-in-command of a Navy minesweeper, the U.S.S. Quail.
Lt. Crotty, 30, was captured and sent to the Cabanatuan POW camp, located about 70 miles north of Manila. He died in July 1942 after contracting diphtheria in a severe outbreak that swept through the camp.
More than 2,500 POWs perished from the brutal conditions they suffered, officials said. Lt. Crotty was buried in a mass grave outside the prison camp walls, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.
The remains of the American POWs were later exhumed and transferred to what is now called the Manila American cemetery.
Although interred as an “unknown,” his grave was “meticulously” cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission, said officials with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Because of the circumstances of his death and the commingling of the remains — along with the limited technology at the time — Lt. Crotty could not be immediately identified.
In January 2018, remains from Common Grave 312 at the Manila cemetery were sent to the agency’s lab for analysis. Included was one set designated as X-2858 Manila #2. Agency scientists examined dental and anthropological evidence along with any material found at the scene during their inquiry, officials said.
On Sept. 10, 2019, Lt. Thomas Crotty, U.S. Coast Guard, was officially accounted for by the nation he gave his life to defend.
According to the Buffalo News, the Commandant of the Coast Guard will be attending his funeral on Saturday.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.