Crotty attended the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, where he excelled amongst his peers.

On September 8, 1934, a fire broke out aboard the ocean liner SS Morro Castle off of Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

[1][2] Crotty was also assigned cutters based out of Seattle, Washington; Alaska, where he had a Justice Department appointment as a special deputy on the Bering Sea Patrol; and Sault Ste.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II.

[1][2] As American troops began retreating to the Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor, Lieutenant Crotty supervised the demolition of strategic facilities and equipment to prevent them from being captured by the Japanese.

Crotty continued returning to Cavite on night raids to destroy additional equipment before the area was occupied by the enemy.

On May 24, the POWs were loaded onto landing barges and transported to Manila, where they were forced to march in a Japanese "Victory Parade" through the city.

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner System helped identify Crotty using DNA samples from his great-nephews and great-nieces.

Crotty's remains were subsequently flown back to his hometown of Buffalo, arriving at Niagara Falls Air Force Base on November 1.

Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, ordered all state government buildings to fly their flags at half mast in honor of Crotty.