Ralph McMaster Rich, born on 22 January 1916 in Denmark, North Dakota, enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve on 12 October 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After receiving initial flight training in Minnesota, Aviation Cadet Rich reported for active duty at Pensacola, Florida, on 28 December 1939. Designated a Naval Aviator on 12 July 1940, he was commissioned as an Ensign on 16 August, and assigned to Fighting Squadron Six (VF-6) embarked aboard the aircraft carrierEnterprise (CV-6) on 28 November.
ENS Rich participated in several of the early actions of the Pacific War. Among them were the 1 February 1942 raid on the Marshall Islands, in which he destroyed a Japanese bomber on the ground, and the 24 February attack on Wake Island.
Promoted to Lieutenant (junior grade) on 28 May 1942, he led a section of fighters covering the approach of American bombers against the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Midway 4 to 6 June 1942. In addition, Rich is credited with shooting down one enemy torpedo plane while flying on combat air patrol over Yorktown (CV-5). On 18 June 1942, while participating in aerial gunnery practice over the Hawaiian Islands, his F4F-4 "Wildcat" crashed, killing him instantly. During a routine gunnery dive over NAS Kaneohe Bay, a wing tore off of Wildcat, BuNo 5184, of VF-3,[1] at 5,000 feet.[2] He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his "capable and aggressive leadership" in the Midway battle, which enabled his attack group to "maintain continuous flight over enemy naval units, thereby assuring our dive bombers an unmolested approach."
Namesakesedit
Two Navy ships have been named USS Rich in his honor.
^Stafford, Edward P., "The Big E: The Story of the USS Enterprise", Bluejacket Books, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1962/2002, LCCN 2001057951, ISBN1-55750-998-0, p. 119.
ralph, rich, ralph, mcmaster, rich, january, 1916, june, 1942, aviator, united, states, navy, during, world, ralph, mcmaster, richensign, usnr, enterprise, january, 1942, born, 1916, january, 1916denmark, north, dakotadiedjune, 1942, 1942, aged, hawaiian, isla. Ralph McMaster Rich 22 January 1916 18 June 1942 was an aviator of the United States Navy during World War II Ralph McMaster RichEnsign Ralph M Rich USNR USS Enterprise CV 6 January 1942 Born 1916 01 22 January 22 1916Denmark North DakotaDiedJune 18 1942 1942 06 18 aged 26 Hawaiian IslandsAllegianceUnited States of AmericaService wbr branchUnited States NavyYears of service1939 42RankLieutenant junior grade Battles warsWorld War II Battle of MidwayAwardsNavy CrossRalph McMaster Rich born on 22 January 1916 in Denmark North Dakota enlisted in the U S Naval Reserve on 12 October 1939 in Minneapolis Minnesota After receiving initial flight training in Minnesota Aviation Cadet Rich reported for active duty at Pensacola Florida on 28 December 1939 Designated a Naval Aviator on 12 July 1940 he was commissioned as an Ensign on 16 August and assigned to Fighting Squadron Six VF 6 embarked aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise CV 6 on 28 November ENS Rich participated in several of the early actions of the Pacific War Among them were the 1 February 1942 raid on the Marshall Islands in which he destroyed a Japanese bomber on the ground and the 24 February attack on Wake Island Promoted to Lieutenant junior grade on 28 May 1942 he led a section of fighters covering the approach of American bombers against the Japanese fleet during the Battle of Midway 4 to 6 June 1942 In addition Rich is credited with shooting down one enemy torpedo plane while flying on combat air patrol over Yorktown CV 5 On 18 June 1942 while participating in aerial gunnery practice over the Hawaiian Islands his F4F 4 Wildcat crashed killing him instantly During a routine gunnery dive over NAS Kaneohe Bay a wing tore off of Wildcat BuNo 5184 of VF 3 1 at 5 000 feet 2 He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his capable and aggressive leadership in the Midway battle which enabled his attack group to maintain continuous flight over enemy naval units thereby assuring our dive bombers an unmolested approach Namesakes editTwo Navy ships have been named USS Rich in his honor References edit USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List June 1942 Stafford Edward P The Big E The Story of the USS Enterprise Bluejacket Books Naval Institute Press Annapolis Maryland 1962 2002 LCCN 2001057951 ISBN 1 55750 998 0 p 119 This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships External links editDANFS biography of LTJG Ralph Rich NHS biography of LTJG Ralph Rich Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ralph M Rich amp oldid 1036500057, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
