Carl Clark, decorated hero of USS Aaron Ward

Carl Clark, who was recognised with a medal of honour six decades after his bravery during the Second World War, has died at the age of 100.

Mr Clark, who was denied the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal until 2012 because of his race, died at a Veterans Administration hospital in California, his daughter Karen Clark Collins said.

“He didn’t consider himself a hero, he never talked about it,” Ms Clark Collins said.

“But after he left the Navy, he helped start the Boys and Girls Club in Menlo Park and did a lot for his community. “He was a compassionate and sharing man.” He was serving as a steward on the USS Aaron Ward when Japanese kamikazes attacked the destroyer near Okinawa in May 1945.

“They would guide those planes directly into the ships,” Mr Clark said of the planes he described as “flying bombs” during a 2011 interview.

Six kamikazes hit the destroyer, with the blast from one plane so powerful it blew him all the way across the ship.

He suffered a broken collarbone, but Mr Clark was credited with saving the lives of several men by dragging them to safety. He also put out a fire in an ammunition locker. Even though the destroyer’s captain acknowledged Mr Clark had saved the ship, it took more than 60 years for him to be recognised for his actions.

Mr Clark blamed bigotry, saying: “It wouldn’t look good to say one black man saved the ship.”

The captain of the destroyer tried to make up for the slight by giving him extra leave and making sure he was not sent back to sea, Mr Clark said.

He received the medal on January 17 2012 during a ceremony at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California.

Mr Clark received his medal in 2012.