Naval History and Heritage Command

Milton E. Ricketts was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 5 August 1913. Graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1935, he subsequently served in USS Ranger (CV-4) and USS Yorktown (CV-5). On 8 May 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Lieutenant Ricketts was in charge of a damage control party on board Yorktown. When a Japanese bomb exploded among his group, he successfully undertook fire-fighting measures despite having received mortal wounds. For this act of heroism, Lieutenant Milton E. Ricketts was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

USS Ricketts (DE-254) was named in his honor.