Thomas Joel Maloy was a member of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 and a recipient of the Navy Cross

Navy Cross

The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...

 for heroism.

Maloy was born in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, and enlisted in the Navy 30 September 1926. On 13 November 1942, in action off Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

, Chief Watertender Maloy’s ship, USS Atlanta

USS Atlanta (CL-51)

USS Atlanta of the United States Navy was the lead ship of the Atlanta class of 11 light cruisers. She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Designed to provide anti-aircraft protection for US naval task groups, Atlanta served in this capacity in the naval Battles of...

, was torpedoed and went dead in the water. After ordering his crew to abandon number one fireroom, Maloy remained at his station struggling to stem the rapid flooding of the area. Compelled to leave the compartment, he proceeded to the forward engineroom to investigate conditions there. He perished in this heroic attempt to save the ship. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism during the Guadalcanal campaign. The USS Maloy DDE-791 was named after him.