SAN FRANCISCO — Carl Clark, a California man who was recognized six decades after his bravery during World War II with a distinguished medal that had been denied because he was black, died March 16 at a Veteran’s Administration hospital in Menlo Park. He was 100.

‘‘He didn’t consider himself a hero; he never talked about it,’’ his daughter, Karen Clark Collins, said in confirming the death. ‘‘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.’’

Mr. Clark was serving as a steward first class aboard the USS Aaron Ward when Japanese kamikazes attacked the destroyer near Okinawa in May 1945.

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

Though he suffered a broken collarbone in the attack, he was credited with saving the lives of several men by dragging them to safety. He also put out a fire in an ammunition locker that would have cracked the vessel in half.

Even though the destroyer’s captain acknowledged that Mr. Clark had saved the ship, it took more than six decades to be fully recognized for his actions, according to Mr. Clark, because of ‘‘bigotry.’’

‘‘It wouldn’t look good to say one black man saved the ship,’’ he said in 2011.

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

He received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for heroism on Jan. 17, 2012, during a ceremony at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif.