WW2 Marine Raider KIA Navy Cross uniform

[4thraiders]

Yestersay I received the dress green jacket of an extraordinary story and selfless sacrifice for his buddies.

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CITATION:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the **Navy Cross** (Posthumously) to Corporal Ralph E. Moore, Jr. (MCSN: 500897), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving with the Third Battalion, Fourth Marines (Reinforced), First Provisional Marine Brigade, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Guam, Marianas Islands, 27 and 29 July 1944. When the advance of his platoon was held up by heavy enemy fire on 27 July, Corporal Moore unhesitatingly made his way forward in the face of intense hostile opposition and, skillfully and accurately employing hand grenades, personally accounted for the destruction of three enemy pillboxes. Again on 29 July, he valiantly crawled forward under fierce machine-gun and mortar fire to a bomb-proof shelter containing about thirty Japanese and succeeded in silencing the hostile strongpoint with his grenades before he was mortally wounded. By his brilliant initiative and indomitable fighting spirit under extremely perilous conditions, Corporal Moore enabled his platoon to advance without losses, and his self-sacrificing devotion to duty reflects the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

In Ralph’s two day single man assault they counted a total of 50 Japanese soldiers killed. If not for Ralph his unit would have taken a higher amount of casualties trying to attack the Japanese positions. Also pictures is the newspaper article about Ralph’s heroism. There is also a picture of a Marine Corps officer presenting his Navy Cross Medal to his mother and father. Lastly is his grave on Guam before his remains were sent back to his family for burial. It’s truly an honor, as always, to have such a piece of history in hand.

Im not sure how this wasn’t a MEDAL OF HONOR worthy sacrifice but I truly think Ralph deserved it.

RIP and thank you for your sacrifice.

[jeremiahcable]

Can you show some pictures of the name in the blouse, as well as the QM stamp?

[doyler]

Riibbons added?

 

Just curious as a KIA uniform to me wouldn't have the Navy Cross and purple heart on it for the action he lost his life in.

[RustyCanteen]

Riibbons added?

 

Just curious as a KIA uniform to me wouldn't have the Navy Cross and purple heart on it for the action he lost his life in.

 

Or a WWII Victory ribbon.

[themick]

Of course they are added. The question is by whom, and obviously not the fallen Maine. Was it by the family, or by some collector? I'd ask what was the source of the blouse. Also, as Jeremiah asked above, the pictures he requested are important.

 

Steve

[Blacksmith]

A mix of 3/8 and 1/2-inch ribbons smacks of collector put-together. Was trying to give benefit of doubt to the family-added idea, but the official medals they would have received would have contained 3/8-inch ribbons. So, these were purchased / added later.

 

As mentioned, need to see how name appears in sleeve, and would like to see better pics of how the patch is applied.

[carbinephalen]

I second all of the above comments.

 

I dont see anything wrong with displaying it with the ribbons as a tribute/display to his sacrifice in an exhibit. As long as it is marketed in that way. If it checks out that is one helluva Marine!

[4thraiders]

It was reissued at one time and found stripped .. it was restored by the previous owner to honor the jacket and display what he had earned. I’ll get to those pics when I can for sure!

[Blacksmith]

It may be just me, but respectfully, it would seem more transparent - or at least a time saver - if you would lead with that.

 

There are a TON of R E Moore Marines in the Muster Rolls - even multiple Ralph E. Moore.

 

I hope you have something tying the Alpha to the NC / Raider - like a period-applied MCSN or similar.

 

It was reissued at one time and found stripped .. it was restored by the previous owner to honor the jacket and display what he had earned. Ill get to those pics when I can for sure!

[4thraiders]

I traded for this uniform and am very thorough with my research But after posting and talking to some other collectors some questions were raised. What do y’all think based on these photos? The previous owner is well respected and does very good research himself. He bought it stripped off of eBay for cheap thus it had drawn no red flags for him, he simply went by what info he had and restored it. Let’s see some thoughts on these.

 

 

 

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[Wake1941]

Looks like the serial number was added at a later date, not totally sure maybe others can confirm that

[Lucky 7th Armored]

It looks like there might be a “J” after “MOORE” stamp above the “R.D. CLARK 1945” if I do see it correctly that would lend credibility to it being the KIA NX recipient. I’m not sure if the MCSN matches other period examples of a laundry marker, it’s close but am reserved to see what others say.

 

If it is his uniform, reissued or not, that is an incredible uniform that belonged to an even more incredible Marine.

 

 

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[jeremiahcable]

Is that the outline of an air wing patch's stitching by the QM mark? There seem to be 2 or 3 variations of the Moore name stamp and it looks to be stamped on top of the Clark stamp at one point. It's odd that if Clark was issued the blouse after Moore he marked over Moore's name in two places but not the others, in the same sleeve.

[4thraiders]

Is that the outline of an air wing patch's stitching by the QM mark? There seem to be 2 or 3 variations of the Moore name stamp and it looks to be stamped on top of the Clark stamp at one point. It's odd that if Clark was issued the blouse after Moore he marked over Moore's name in two places but not the others, in the same sleeve.

 

It looks more like a 1st Mar Div outline.

 

[doyler]

I had a Raider group 3 uniforms,The blues had a 1st Mar Div,one set of greens plain,one green with 5th Div patch.Ranks from PFC,Corporai,to Sgt . Dog tag,copies of paper work....all from the son.One uniform had two names in it.One was the Raider but very faint the other a Marine from his same company in the 5th.Vet was wounded twice.Once on Bouganville from shrapnel from Japanese hand grenade,second time was wounded on Iwo.No evidence he wore the Raider patch.

 

 

This is the vet wearing one of the 3 uniforms.

 

 

[manayunkman]

A bit of a stretch.

 

At least you know it's put together.

[Blacksmith]

I suspect that was pretty common.

 

I knew two Raiders, one of which ended up folded into the 5th MARDIV on Iwo.

 

Never any mention of Raider patches in any of our conversations.

 

My guess is that more Raider-patched uniforms exist now than ever.

 

My buddy said to me one time: for every SS helmet made during WWII, only three exist today.

 

I had to think about that one for a spell...

 

I had a Raider group 3 uniforms,The blues had a 1st Mar Div,one set of greens plain,one green with 5th Div patch.Ranks from PFC,Corporai,to Sgt . Dog tag,copies of paper work....all from the son.One uniform had two names in it.One was the Raider but very faint the other a Marine from his same company in the 5th.Vet was wounded twice.Once on Bouganville from shrapnel from Japanese hand grenade,second time was wounded on Iwo.No evidence he wore the Raider patch.

 

 

This is the vet wearing one of the 3 uniforms.

 

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[4thraiders]

Despite all of the helpful and constructive comments, it sounds like there is more doubt than not. Is the consensus to send this uniform back?

[Brig]

I see no machine stitched ghost of a Raider SSI ever being sewn on...notice also the rank next to his name in the sleeve...if this is indeed Raider Moore, he likely acquired this uniform after he picked up Corporal, sometime between April and June 1944, when he was in 3/4. He was never a Corporal as a Raider, and that jacket never held a Raider SSI. If we are striving for accuracy, either the SSI should be replaced with the divisional, or the rank should be replaced with PFC. We should be striving for accuracy, not eye candy. Ribbons representing service are one thing, they don't require alterations or stitching, but collectors slapping Raider SSI on restores are more for their own satisfaction than any attempt at accuracy.

Bad stitch job on the patch, poor attention to detail with the rank to SSI, ribbons appear to be a combo of 1/2" and 3/8"...poor restore.

 

That said, the SN does appear to be added at a different time with different pen. There was also a Ralph E Moore who served in Ship's Detachment, which also rated a diamond patch about the size of 1stMarDiv. There was also a Robert D Clark in 1945 who was also Ship's Detachment and held the rank of Sergeant...any ghost of Sergeant chevrons behind the Corporal? Uniform transferring from ship detachment to ship detachment would certainly make sense

 

Just 6 months ago I exposed an alleged Navy Cross Raider jacket that had been restored to a Marine named Vogel...same deal, another Marine named Vogel with same initials had been in the Air Wing, ghost of the MAW patch was visible and someone had either gotten over-excited and latched onto the Raider, or intentionally humped the piece. This is not uncommon with Raider items

[Lucky 7th Armored]

Brig, I remember that one! That was some good detective work and I think you nailed it again on this one.

 

 

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[4thraiders]

I see no machine stitched ghost of a Raider SSI ever being sewn on...notice also the rank next to his name in the sleeve...if this is indeed Raider Moore, he likely acquired this uniform after he picked up Corporal, sometime between April and June 1944, when he was in 3/4. He was never a Corporal as a Raider, and that jacket never held a Raider SSI. If we are striving for accuracy, either the SSI should be replaced with the divisional, or the rank should be replaced with PFC. We should be striving for accuracy, not eye candy. Ribbons representing service are one thing, they don't require alterations or stitching, but collectors slapping Raider SSI on restores are more for their own satisfaction than any attempt at accuracy.

 

Bad stitch job on the patch, poor attention to detail with the rank to SSI, ribbons appear to be a combo of 1/2" and 3/8"...poor restore.

 

That said, the SN does appear to be added at a different time with different pen. There was also a Ralph E Moore who served in Ship's Detachment, which also rated a diamond patch about the size of 1stMarDiv. There was also a Robert D Clark in 1945 who was also Ship's Detachment and held the rank of Sergeant...any ghost of Sergeant chevrons behind the Corporal? Uniform transferring from ship detachment to ship detachment would certainly make sense

 

Just 6 months ago I exposed an alleged Navy Cross Raider jacket that had been restored to a Marine named Vogel...same deal, another Marine named Vogel with same initials had been in the Air Wing, ghost of the MAW patch was visible and someone had either gotten over-excited and latched onto the Raider, or intentionally humped the piece. This is not uncommon with Raider items

 

Thank you for the clarity here! Big help!

 

 

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[Brig]

All I did was spend ten minutes on the Muster Rolls for this one...

 

Here's the problem with Raider uniforms, Paramarine uniforms, 101st Airborne uniforms...any uniform or item from an overly popular unit...they're overly popular. So many collectors focus on stuff that is allegedly elite, or from famous units. People see a name and a possible connection and that's it...they cease examining the other possibilities. They let excitement and desire replace fact.

 

Just because the SN was added, does not mean it was added by someone else, just at a different time. It could have been added by the vet. Problem is...how many times has this changed hands? The collector you got it from might not have added it, but a previous owner very well may have. The collector you got it from may have seen the number, found the connection, and overlooked the different ink...or got overly excited by the prospect of a Navy Cross Raider.

 

I'd want a lot more research with a concrete connection to be satisfied this is the Raider's. Without something concrete, even if this is the Raider's, it's still only worth the sum of the parts to a serious collector.

 

I once found a poorly listed Vandegrift that had a 1970s restored ribbon rack of an Iwo Raider MOH recipient...that man I got it from was himself a Korean War Marine, who said it had hung at an American Legion in the recipient's home state...and it even came with a few pocket contents that suggested the uniform belongs to him. Ribbons had been added in the 70s for the Legion's display. Problem is, the only markings are initials...not much concrete there. However, after a lot of digging, I was able to surmise that several of the vet's uniforms are indeed circulating the market, a couple of which are marked the same, and the vet had unusual proportions and measurements match up to a known uniform of his. So...I am satisfied it's his, however I highly doubt I'd be able to get people to pay the value it would be if better marked or with solid provenance...simply because of the 'maybe' factor. I have it restored and in my collection and am quite sure it is indeed the Raider's, however I'm sure you wouldn't have to go far to find doubters...

 

If you're happy with it and believe it original, that's what matters, but if you ever decide to sell or trade it, be honest about the circumstances surrounding it...this topic is always a Google search away for the buyer. As for me...without a lot more research...I would not put this in my collection, at least not as a Raider uniform.