黑洞社区

SEAMAN APPRENTICE

A Coast Guard hero; U.S. Coast Guard Medal;
Namesake, CGC William Ray Flores 

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

"Your Son is Gone," was the last of five Coast Guard marching cadences nominated for Coast Guard Boot Camp's Top Cadence of 2012. The cadence chronicles the last surviving minutes of Seaman Apprentice William R. Flores aboard Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn January 28, 1980.

St. Petersburg, and the Coast Guard, each held commemorative events to mark the 40th anniversary of Flores' heroic act, in late January 2020. A recently completed life-sized concrete statue of Flores was unveiled at the ceremony. It will be placed offshore, near the site of the sinking.

[September 2000 Coast Guard Press Release]

A Coast Guard hero who died while saving the lives of many of his shipmates when his cutter sank will receive the Coast Guard’s highest service medal posthumously in a ceremony near Ft. Worth, Texas, Sept. 16, 2000.  The family of Seaman Apprentice William R. Flores will receive his Coast Guard Medal at 10 a.m. at the Benbrook Cemetery, Benbrook, Texas, near his gravesite.  Flores’ family selected the date in part because it is a day of honor for many Hispanics - a celebration of Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain. The Coast Guard’s 8th District Commander, Rear Admiral Paul Pluta, and the service’s top enlisted member, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Vince Patton, will be among the officials on hand to honor Seaman Apprentice Flores. The ceremony is open to the media. 

Flores and 22 other Coast Guardsmen perished in the sinking of the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn on January 28, 1980.  The Blackthorn and the tanker Capricorn collided near the entrance to Tampa Bay, Florida.  The Blackthorn capsized before all the cutter’s crew could abandon ship.  Twenty-seven of Flores’ shipmates did escape the sinking ship.

After the ships collided, Flores and another crewmember threw lifejackets to their shipmates who had jumped into the water.  Later, when his companion abandoned ship as the Blackthorn began to submerge, Flores--who was less than a year out of boot camp--remained behind and used his own belt to strap open the lifejacket locker door, allowing additional lifejackets to float to the surface.  Even after most crewmembers abandoned ship, the 19-year-old Flores remained aboard to assist trapped shipmates and to comfort those who were injured and disoriented.

"Seaman Apprentice Flores demonstrated extraordinary courage and devotion to duty, particularly in light of his youth and limited shipboard experience," said Master Chief Patton.

The Coast Guard’s recognition of Flores’ heroism comes after his surviving shipmates and several retired Coast Guardsmen reviewed the records of the collision and realized that Flores’ actions had not been formally honored.

The Blackthorn was a 180-foot buoy tender that was commissioned on March 27, 1944.  In addition to aids to navigation, the cutter’s other assignments included icebreaking on the Great Lakes, search-and-rescue missions along the California coastline, and the rescuing of survivors involved in air and sea disasters along the Gulf Coast.

[December 2000 issue of the magazine Coast Guard, pages 30-33.]

"Getting His Due: CG Hero Receives Honor Posthumously"

Twenty years ago, a young Coast Guardsman from Benbrook, Texas, sacrificed his life to help his shipmates in the frantic minutes after their 180-foot cutter collided with a 605-foot oil tanker near the entrance of Tampa Bay, Fla.

The actions of Seaman Apprentice William Ray “Billy” Flores were somehow overlooked as officials investigated the worst peacetime disaster in Coast Guard history.

But a few officers didn’t forget.  They pushed the Coast Guard to formally recognize Flores’ heroism and, the morning Sept. 16 [2000], Flores was honored posthumously with the Coast Guard Medal, the service’s highest award for heroism not involving combat.

His parents, Robert and Julia Flores of Benbrook, accepted the award at a ceremony in Benbrook Cemetery as their six surviving children and other relatives looked on.

Flores, 19, had only been in the Coast Guard a few months when the cutter Blackthorn collided nearly head on with the tanker Capricorn on the evening of Jan. 28, 1980.  Flores and another crew member, Larry Clutter, had stayed aboard to throw life jackets to some of their shipmates who had jumped into the water.

When the Blackthorn began to sink, Clutter abandoned ship, but Flores stayed put.  He used his belt to strap open the life jacket locker door, so more life jackets could float to the surface.  He also assisted trapped shipmates and comforted others who were injured and disoriented, Coast Guard officials said.

Despite Flores’ efforts, 23 crewmembers died.  “Seaman Apprentice Flores’ exceptional fortitude, remarkable initiative and courage throughout this tragic incident were instrumental in saving many lives,” said Rear Adm. Paul Pluta, the Coast Guard’s 8th District commander.

“His example is all the more notable when one considers his youth and lack of experience,” Pluta said. “ He set the standard for us all and embodies the true spirit of what we stand for.”

The family selected Sept. 16, Dieciseis de Septiembre, for the medal ceremony because it’s a day of honor for Hispanics.  It commemorates the beginning of Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain.

About 100 people attended the ceremony near Flores’ grave, among them Benbrook Mayor Felix Hebert.  Coast Guard BMC David Sauceda, who recruited Flores, and retired BMCM Alan Nations, who promised Flores’ parents more than a decade ago that he would do everything in his power to see to it that their son received recognition.

Flores was one of dozens of new members to report for duty aboard the Galveston-based ship, which was acting as a buoy tender on the day of the collision, said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Vince Patton, the service’s top enlisted member.  Many crewmembers did not even know each other, he said.

"Many of the survivors told the same story.  Patton said.  “They said they would not be alive if it were not for one of the new crewmembers.  They couldn't remember his name, though."

In the ensuing investigation into the accident’s cause, Flores’ actions somehow slipped through the cracks.  But Clutter and Nations, based in Galveston at the time of the accident, repeatedly contacted Coast Guard officials to report that Flores had not been formally honored.

“I can’t explain why it took so long,” said Nations, who lives in Kentucky.  “What really matters is the Coast Guard's action today.”

Patton said his staff conducted an extensive investigation, poring through transcripts from survivors, administrative records, newspaper clippings and other documents.

The Flores family had prayed and waited patiently for many years for their son to be honored.  “I think it’s a wonderful thing that the Coast Guard has done for our son,” an emotional Robert Flores said.  “We are so very grateful.”

Billy Flores attended Western Hills High School and was proud to be in the Coast Guard, said his sister, Carolyn Ahlstrom, who flew from Seattle to attend the ceremony.  He loved wearing the uniform, she said.

“It was just his nature to help others,” said his brother, Richard Flores, 40, who lives in Fort Worth.  “That’s just how he was.  We’re very proud of him.”

Meteorologist, KTVT-TV Channel 11, KTBS-TV, KWTX-TV, KBTX-TV; Real Estate Agent in DFW

Certified Broadcast Meteorology Seal of Approval, 2006

(1995)

Visiting his alma mater in 2016

September 7, 2018

FIRST BLACK U.S. MARINE CORPS FOUR-STAR GENERAL

Many trailblazers have started on their path within the hallways of Fort Worth ISD schools, and General Michael E. Langley is one of them.

School was not easy for Michael E. Langley, his father, Willie C. Langley, said. Once a coach told him that he would never amount to anything.  

“Of course, it hurt his feelings,” Willie C. Langley shared at a Benbrook City Council meeting in December 2023. “I said ‘don’t listen to him. We’re going to show him.”

Today, his son Michael, a 1980 Western Hills High School graduate, is the first Black four-star general in the U.S. Marine Corps’ nearly 250-year history. He serves as commander of the U.S. Africa Command. Based in Germany, the combatant U.S. Africa Command oversees “all U.S. military operations and activities to protect and advance U.S. national interests in Africa,” according to the command website.

Gen. Langley not only disproved his coach’s prediction but also etched his story into U.S. history.

In June 2022, President Joseph R. Biden nominated him for the promotion to general. He was confirmed by the Senate Armed Services Committee in August 2022. According to the MarineTimes, Gen. Langley is one of only 74 Marines to hold a four-star rank, with many being promoted after retiring or posthumously.  

"The milestone and what it means to the Corps is quite essential. Not because of the mark in history, but what it will affect going forward, especially for those younger across society that want to aspire and look at the Marine Corps as an opportunity," Gen. Langley said in a U.S. Marines web story in 2022. 

Gen. Langley graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1985. Over his nearly 40-year career, Gen. Langley has commanded units at all levels from platoon to regiment, serving in Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, as well as in Somalia and Okinawa, Japan. Gen. Langley has also served in senior roles at the Pentagon and the military’s Central Command managing Middle East operations. 

He received a formal military education from the U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School and College of Naval Command and Staff. A master’s degree in national security strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College and strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College are among the advanced degrees he’s earned. 

In December 2023, the City of Benbrook awarded a proclamation designating a stretch of Boston Avenue between Camp Bowie Boulevard and Chapin Road with the honorary street name “General Michael E. Langley Way.” The signage, which is located across from his alma mater WHHS, was unveiled in a January ceremony, just days before the commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday. The ceremony was hosted by the Fort Worth Tarrant County NAACP. View video of the ceremony . 

Estella Williams, the local NAACP president, who worked with the City of Benbrook to recognize its hometown hero, calls the street toppers historic and monumental.

“I felt that if we had such a person in our city, in our midst with such high honor, why not take the time to say thank you, we recognize you,” she said.

Gen. Langley’s parents, Willie and Ola, who still live on the street that now bears his name, say they are elated by the honor.

“I mean it’s just unbelievable,” Ola M. Langley said. “I never dreamt anything like this would happen, but I’m so glad that he’s being honored. I’m grateful.”

黑洞社区 District 7 Trustee Dr. Michael Ryan said “there’s nothing better” than having a street honoring Gen. Langley’s accomplishment that 黑洞社区 students can see.

“There will be students that ask questions. We can point to [the sign] and say he made a difference,” Ryan said at the Dec. 7, 2023 Benbrook council meeting. “He was a change leader throughout his entire career so far and will still be, so I’m excited to see this happen, I’m excited for Western Hills High School, and I appreciate all the efforts from the city of Benbrook to make this happen.”

Benbrook city officials and fraternity brothers of Gen. Langley said that his story is an inspiration that will be known by generations.

“In our fraternity, we have a phrase. It’s called a sense of achievement. Achievement is one of our core precepts,” said Richard Beene, Gen. Langley’s college friend and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. brother. “For young people coming down the street, and they look up and see that sign, they can Google his name … and say, ‘well if he can achieve this, then maybe I can achieve something great as well.’”

Learn more about Gen. Langley and on .

First elected female justice, Second Court of Appeals;

Vice president, Tarrant County Bar Association Board

(1973)

U.S. Air Force two-star general; Former Chief of Staff to Texas Governor Rick Perry; served as the Governor’s General Counsel

(1979)

President, San Antonio Missions baseball club; Four-time Texas League Executive of the Year;

Six Texas League championships; Texas League Hall of Fame, 2016

(1975)