Lawson P. Ramage

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Vice Admiral Lawson P. Ramage

Lawson Paterson "Red" Ramage (born January 19, 1909 in Monroe Bridge , Massachusetts ; † April 15, 1990 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was an American Vice Admiral in the US Navy , who was among other things commander of the military maritime transport service and for his striking Heroism was the first living submarine commander to be awarded the Medal of Honor , the US government's highest military honor.

Life

Training and employment as a naval officer

Ramage joined the US Navy after school and graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis , which he graduated in 1931. After he first took up in 1935 using as a naval officer on various ships and was among other navigator on the USS Dickerson , a destroyer of Wickes class , then as an engineer officer on the Clemson-class destroyer belonging destroyer USS Lawrence and most recently as a radio officer on the heavy Cruiser USS Louisville . On November 2, 1935, he married Barbara Alice Pine, the daughter of Vice Admiral of the US Coast Guard , James Pine .

After that, Ramage found particular use in the area of submarine formations and in January 1936 was transferred as a lieutenant to the sea on the S-class submarine USS S-29 . After a subsequent post-graduate studies at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Annapolis, he was in September 1939 First Officer ( Executive Officer ) , belonging to the Cremson-class destroyer USS Sands and remained in this use to February 1941 as it as a communication and Location officer to the staff of the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet submarine units USPACFLT ( United States Pacific Fleet ) in Pearl Harbor .

Second World War

Commander of the USS Trout and award of the Navy Cross

After the attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Forces on the US Pacific Fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 and the associated entry of the United States into World War II on December 8, 1941, Ramage became the navigational officer of the zurich in the spring of 1942 Tambor-class submarine USS Grenadier , with which he undertook several patrol trips and was awarded the Silver Star for his services there .

In June 1942 he took over his first command as Lieutenant Commander , on the submarine USS Trout, which also belongs to the Tambor class . During this time he undertook four patrol trips during the Battle of Midway in June 1942, during which three ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy were sunk. During another patrol trip on August 28, 1942, he managed a torpedo hit on the Japanese escort aircraft carrier Taiyō .

Before his second patrol trip on November 12, 1942, Ramage was promoted to frigate captain and undertook an attack on the Japanese warship Kirishima , which was later abandoned , although the five torpedoes missed the ship. During the next patrol trip , he damaged the Kyokuyo Maru and the Nisshin Maru and sank the Hirotama Maru . On the last patrol trip in March 1943, he did not succeed. For his extraordinary bravery as Commanding Officer of the USS Trout , he was awarded the Navy Cross for the first time , the highest honor given by the US Department of the Navy .

Commander of the USS Parche and receiving the Medal of Honor

In March 1943, Commander Ramage became the commanding officer of the Balao-class submarine USS Parche , which he took over in November 1943 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kitery to join the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. In March 1944 he undertook his first patrol trip on this ship, where he succeeded in pack tactics together with the USS Bang and USS Tinosa to destroy seven enemy ships with 35,000 gross register tons, of which 11,500 gross register tons were awarded to him.

During the second patrol run, also carried out in pack tactics, he succeeded in sinking two enemy ships and seriously damaging three others. For this he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his striking heroism as the first living submarine commander , the highest military award of the US government, which was officially awarded to him on January 10, 1945 by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt . During the third patrol run, he did not hit any enemy ships. He was also awarded the second Navy Cross for his services as Commander of the USS Parche . In addition, the USS Parche was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation .

Post-war period and promotion to vice admiral

After the end of the war, Ramage, known as “Red” because of his red hair, remained associated with the submarine units and was initially commander of U-Boot Division 25 and then commander of U-Boot Squadron 6, before commanding between 1953 and 1954 Officer of the Tolland class belonging amphibious transport ship USS Rankin . In the meantime he attended other courses at Armed Forces Staff College and at Naval War College in Newport . In addition, he was special assistant in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations several times .

In July 1956 Ramage was promoted to Rear Admiral and as such found use as director of the department for anti-submarine defense and submarine warfare in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations and subsequently as commander of cruiser division 2. In 1960 he became (Assistant Chief of Naval Operations) . Thereupon he became deputy commander of the submarine units of the US Atlantic Fleet in August 1962 and in this function led the search operations for the nuclear submarine USS Thresher belonging to the Thresher class of the same name , which on April 10, 1963 was about 350 kilometers was lost in diving tests off Cape Cod on the east coast of the United States , killing 129 people.

In July 1963, Ramage was promoted to Vice Admiral, becoming Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Operations and Readiness. He then succeeded Vice Admiral Ephraim P. Holmes from 1964 to August 1966 during the early phase of the Vietnam War in command of the 1st US Fleet. He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his exceptional service to the Vietnam War . In August 1966, he became Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff in the US Pacific Fleet.

Recently Vice Admiral Ramage was established in March 1967 Commander of the Military Sea Transport Service ( Military Sea Transportation Service ) was. He held this position until his retirement on April 1, 1970. His successor was then Vice Admiral Arthur R. Gralla .

Ramage, who died of complications from cancer, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery after his death . In his honor, was on 1 February 1994 of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer belonging destroyer USS Ramage (DDG-61) baptized. In addition, Ramage Point in Antarctica bears his name.

publication

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ First Fleet Commander Picked to Replace Rivero . In: The New York Times, July 17, 1964
  2. ↑ Vice Adm. Lawson P. Ramage, USN, (Commander First Fleet) and Adm. Roy L. Johnson, USN (Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet) on the Navy History and Heritage Command homepage
  3. ↑ Senior US Navy Leaders, December 31, 1970
  4. ↑ Namesakes: Vice Admiral Lawson P. “Red” Ramage
personal data
SURNAME Ramage, Lawson P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ramage, Lawson Paterson (full name); Ramage, Red (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American military, Vice Admiral in the United States Navy
DATE OF BIRTH January 19, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Monroe Bridge , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1990
Place of death Bethesda , Maryland