LTJG Ralph Rich
18 JUNE 1942
LTJG RALPH RICH
With Hitler’s 1 September 1939 invasion of Poland, the citizenry of the United States remained divided over whether or not we should become involved. However, enlistments in our military went up as men prepared for the possibility of war. In October 1939, in rural North Dakota, Ralph McMaster Rich was so inspired and traveled to Minneapolis to enlist in the Navy. He was shortly selected for aviator training which he completed in July 1940. Four months later he embarked on USS ENTERPRISE (CV-6) with fighter squadron VF-6. The Pearl Harbor attack found Rich and ENTERPRISE at sea, ferrying planes to Wake Island. As the carrier entered this new Pacific war, Rich participated in the raids on the Marshall Islands, in which he is credited with destroying a Japanese bomber on the ground. He flew as well, in the February 1942 raid on the Japanese on Wake Island.
His promotion to LTJG came on 28 May 1942, and only a week later Japan staged an attack on Midway Island. In a daring gamble, and with secret intelligence as to the enemy’s target, ADM Chester Nimitz arrayed our forces in a potential ambush. On the afternoon of June 4th, Rich found himself escorting dive bombers against the Japanese fleet as the enemy readied their aircraft for a second wave against Midway. His “capable and aggressive leadership” on this mission resulted in a highly successful attack. A day later Rich was flying Combat Air Patrol (CAP) over YORKTOWN (CV-5) when a flight of enemy torpedo bombers appeared. Rich’s slashing attack sent one of those bombers into the sea in flames. On Rich’s behalf, his commanding officer forwarded an award nomination.
The squadron was completing a transition to the Grumman F-4F “Wildcat,” and two weeks after Midway, Rich was practicing aerial gunnery over Hawaii. From 5000 feet, as he pushed his Wildcat into a simulated diving attack, the air was split with the shrieking sound of ripping metal. The right wing of Rich’s fighter tore free! Such is always a fatal event. The intact left wing still provides lift, now unopposed by the missing right wing. The plane is pitched into a violent, unrecoverable, corkscrew spin. There was nothing that could be done. Rich’s plane hit the ground at full speed, killing him instantly.
Rich’s award nomination continued to work through channels, being approved ultimately for the Navy Cross. As with several heroic sailors lost in WWII, the Navy named a destroyer escort for the aviator. RICH (DE-695) fought at D-Day where she struck mines and was lost. The Navy transferred her name to another destroyer then building, however RICH (DD-820) was not launched until October 1945, the month following Japan’s surrender.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 25 JUN 23
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 6 “R-S”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1976, pp. 93-94.
Stafford, Edward P. The Big E: The Story of the USS Enterprise. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1962, p. 119.
