WW2 US Navy Pearl Harbor Survivor jacket

[JakeBird6684]

Hi all,

 

I posted about this senior cheif petty officer jacket a while back and finally got around to researching the name I found inside the jacket. The saliors name was Ralph V. Ritchey and it turned out to be quite signifigant. He served 20ish years in the navy making him a carrer salior. Mr. Ritchey served on the USS Pennsyvania from october 1940 to november 1944. This was the first ship he was stationed on. He was also on this ship on the moning of december 7th 1941. This makes him a pearl harbor suvivor. I found a plethera of muster rolls online and researched him extensivly. This is his 1956 jacket. I only paid 20 dollars for this jacket at a flea market in Flordia while on vacation. I am still looking for more infomation on him and any images of him you can find, anything would be appreciated. If possible, could someone tell me the value of the jacket of a pearl harbor survivor?

 

Thanks,

Jake Bird

 

 

 

[P-40Warhawk]

That's a great jacket! Makes me wish I found it!

[P-40Warhawk]

For value, it will vary on things like condition (hard to see how worn it is) but $150-200 plus or minus is in the range I would expect because he was on a battleship.

[sigsaye]

For value, it will vary on things like condition (hard to see how worn it is) but $150-200 plus or minus is in the range I would expect because he was on a battleship.

. Really! He was a Seaman First Class at Pearl Harbor. Since the Senior Chief Rate was not created until 1958, it really has nothing to do with WW2.

[P-59A]

. Really! He was a Seaman First Class at Pearl Harbor. Since the Senior Chief Rate was not created until 1958, it really has nothing to do with WW2.

The quote was for the jacket of a Pearl Harbor survivor with 20 years service. The clothes worn that day if he had them would be much much more. My Grandpa was on the USS Oklahoma on 12-07-41 and did 20 years plus 10 reserve. He had nothing from that day, all his things went down with the ship and he got new issue after. I'm sure the clothes he wore were trashed. After 20 years active I'm sure he went through allot of uniforms. Why would he save any of it? In the Navy you don't mule tons of stuff around, you keep it light and simple. After he retired he only saved his papers, photo's, medals and his PHSA items. Thats all. Who knew anyone would be interested 75 years later.

[JakeBird6684]

. Really! He was a Seaman First Class at Pearl Harbor. Since the Senior Chief Rate was not created until 1958, it really has nothing to do with WW2.

 

Even though the jacket is from 1956 and wasn't actually worn during pearl harbor, it wouldn't be worth as much than something that was worn on that day?

[sigsaye]

Do, he got this coat in 1956, as a BMC. At least 2 years later, he made Senior Chief. I would want to know what he did AFTER he left the Pennsylvania. What other ships did he serve on? He has the China Service medal, what ship? Korea ribbons, what ship(s)? What did he do after Korea? His time on the Pennsylvania was 4 years. Yes, epic years, but he had a whole career after that, with at least 1 other war.

 

As has been said, yep, he was at Pearl Harbor, (so was my uncle). Served on the Pennsylvania (so did my uncle, from 1944 until Bikini). But they both went on to do 20 years

 

This uniform represents all of that. Its finial configuration, post 1958, before the BMCS retired. What ELSE did he do?

[aznation]

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[aznation]

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[aznation]

Publication: News-Press

Location: Fort Myers, Florida

Issue Date: Monday, August 2, 1976

Page: Page 21

 

FRANCES DENNY, CENTER, OWNER OF DENNY TRAVEL IN LEHIGH ACRES, AND RALPH RITCHEY AND KAY JANTZ

 

Ms. Denny quickly won the backing and blessings of Lehigh's residents because she was concerned and because she was willing to do extra things to make sure they had a good trip. The people at Lehigh Acres appreciate this type of attitude and tell their friends. Today her agency has become travel headquarters for practically all residents in the eastern part of Lee County, in Immokalee and in LaBelle. Just because the Denny Travel Agency, Inc. now serves more people its reputation for personal attention hasn't changed. Ralph Ritchey is now on the staff to help along with Kay Jantz. Ralph has been with Ms. Denny 4 years but for many years he worked for New York Airways, Executive Airlines in Fort Myers and 5 years with the Military Sea Transport Service, serving on many types of passenger vessels. Ms. Jantz came to work for Ms. Denny 3 years ago. Although she didn't have previous experience as a travel agent, she had traveled extensively to many parts of the United States and overseas. It's important, too, to mention that Ms. Denny, Mr. Ritchey, and Ms. Jantz are Lehigh residents. They have an interest in the community and are involved in community projects. Thus, their work involves helping friends and neighbors who have places to go and things to see. The Denny Travel Agency, Inc. does not charge for its services. They'll sell you tickets on airlines and steamships at the same price you'd pay at the terminal. But, by knowing how to arrange routing and scheduling they'll often save you money, time and trouble. Ms. Denny can also arrange escorted bus tours and escorted cruises. Call the Denny Travel Agency at 369-5808 in Lehigh Acres at the Sunshine Shopping Plaza. You can depend on them for help. Ask Frances Denny why she ever left glamorous jobs in big cities to establish a "one-gal" travel agency in the small community of Lehigh Acres back in 1968. Her answer will surprise you. Ms. Denny opened the Denny Travel Agency in a 10 by 20-foot room in the Sunshine Shopping Plaza because she likes people, because she is very knowledgeable about travel scheduling and arrangements, and because people in Lehigh Acres needed someone to help them with travel arrangements. Her 7 years in reservations and ticketing with a major airline and 3 years as a travel consultant in a large agency gives her the background to handle every travel arrangement. But her travel agency didn't stay small. It has grown proportionately with the community's needs. Now it occupies larger quarters and she is assisted by two well trained, experienced travel agents. Yet, no business can grow and prosper without the backing and blessings of the people it was created to serve.

[aznation]

Publication: News-Press

Location: Fort Myers, Florida

Issue Date: Tuesday, December 3, 1991

Page: Page 66

 

PEARL HARBOR TUESDAY. DECEMBER 3,

Pearl Harbor THE DAY: DEC.7,1941

I’ll never forget, or forgive

By KEVIN LOLLAR News-Press Staff Writer

 

Southwest Florida veterans who were at Pearl Harbor recall the nightmare Ritchey says. "I was just a kid standing in the bow of the launch, and I happened to look toward Ford Island and saw all these planes way up there. I thought they were ours practicing. "Then I saw the bombs coming, and the Rising Sun. A plane dropped a torpedo, and it went right underneath our launch kids were jumping out left and right; I was scared to death and it hit the Oglala. "We dropped off the people in the launch, then went back to where the people were in the water and picked them up. Then we went back to our battle stations. "The coxswain on the launch was a fellow named Baker. He went to his battle station in the stern of the Pennsylvania; a bomb exploded back there. I never saw him again. "I never smoked in my life before that, but that day, I smoked a carton of cigarettes." The Pennsylvania suffered minor damage in the attack; On a typically beautiful Hawaiian morning, 21-year-old Louis Poehler and his brother Elmer sat on the fantail of the light cruiser USS St Louis with their tennis rackets. The idea was to play a couple of sets, then head for a favorite watering hole for a few drinks. Just before 8 o'clock that morning Dec. 7, 1941 the sky to the south of the St. Louis turned smoky with flak. "Look at those poor son of a guns over at Hickam," Elmer said. "They're having gunnery practice on a Sunday morning." Louis Poehler turned and saw more than anti-aircraft fire. "I said, “Like hell! Look what's coming," says Poehler, now of Fort Myers Beach. "I could see them, one after another, peeling down; honest to God, they were torpedo planes, and I could see that big meatball on the side. There was fear and a futility at not being able to do much, and knowing your ship was gone." John Glass, USS West Virginia war. "We heard, All hands, general quarters, then: “This is no drill.” We got our guns going, I ain't kidding. And the Japs were coming in so low, if I'd had a baseball, I could have hit them. "It was so confusing out there. Then I saw a torpedo slam into the side of the West Virginia." West Virginia sank after being hit by seven torpedoes and two bombs. The St. Louis, under the command of Capt. George A. Rood, barreled out of the harbor, with the gun crews blazing away at the attacking planes. "Lucky Lou" was the only large ship to get out of the harbor and into the open ocean. But before she could do anything, her crew had to weld shut a 4 foot-diameter hole that had been cut in the hull for boiler repairs. "And we had all these cables and stuff aboard, so when the shooting started, everybody was out with fire axes cutting those damned cables so we could get the hell out of there," Poehler says. "Normally, when you come out, you have two or three tugs backing you out, but the skipper backed 'er out like he was driving a car. Twenty-three-year-old John Glass, a radioman aboard the West Virginia, felt the torpedo. Like the Poehlers, Glass was getting ready to go ashore just before 8 a.m. "I'd just taken a shower, and I was standing there in my skivvies, when I heard the alarm, “Away fire and rescue party,” says Glass, who lives in Cape Coral. "Then somebody looked out a porthole and said, 'Look at it burn!' "Then we got the call to general quarters. That's when the first torpedo hit. It knocked me right off my feet. I was a radioman, so my battle station was on the bridge, and that's where I went, still in my skivvies." At the same time, 22-year-old Ralph Ritchey, now of Lehigh Acres, was aboard a 50-foot motor launch returning from shore to the USS Pennsylvania, which was in dry dock. The launch passed the St. Louis on its way up the Southeast Loch, then turned into battleship row. "Everybody was more or less stunned. That night, two or three planes came in, and everybody started shooting at them. But they were our planes." Ralph Ritchey," USS Pennsylvania. "We were really firing at those Japanese son of a guns. A few days after the attack, my brother and I ran into two guys at a bar who said, “You guys were firing your guns so fast, we thought you were on fire.” Everything was just Bam! Bam! Bam! We had a gun crew that was out of this world, boy." The St. Louis was credited with three Japanese planes shot down that morning.

[aznation]

Source: FamilySearch.org

[aznation]

Source: FamilySearch.org

 

[AnDuc49]

From what I could find, Ralph Vernon Ritchey SN 291-63-02:

• Enlisted 4 October 1940
• By 30 June 1942 he is promoted to Cox.
• In November of 1944, he finishes his service aboard the USS Pennsylvania
• On 5 November 1944 he arrives on the USS Effingham (APA-165) as a BM 2/C; the Effingham would land troops on Okinawa and post-war would ferry US troops to Korea and China for occupation duties before transporting US troops back to the US
• After the USS Effingham is decommissioned, he is now transferred to the USS Pawcatuck (AO-108) as a BM 1/C sometime in 1946/1947.
• He and a large number of crew from the Pawcatuck (and a few other ships) are seemingly "loaned out" to the USS Canisteo (AO-99) in late January of 1948
• He returns to the Pawcatuck, showing up on their muster rolls until the end of 1949
• By 1952 during the Korean War, he shows up as a crewmember of the USS Maury (DD-401) as a BMC (having been promoted from BM 1/C to BMC on 20 September 1951)
• In June of 1959, he is transferred to ResTraCen (Naval Reserve Training Center) in Whitestone, NY as BMCS
  

Hope this helps a little with fleshing out his service history

[aznation]

Publication: The Terre Haute Tribune

Location: Terre Haute, Indiana

Issue Date: Sunday, November 27, 1949

Page: Page 30

 

ODON MAN GIVEN RESERVE FLEET BERTH

Ralph Vernon Ritchey, boatswain's mate, first class, USN, of Odon. Ind., is assigned to Subordinate Group 2 of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk naval shipyard, Portsmouth, Va. Ritchey entered the navy June 11, 1940. Before entering the navy he attended Burns City High School.

[aznation]

Source: Fold3

[aznation]

Source: WWII Memorial Website

[aznation]

Publication: Charlestown Courier

Location: Charlestown, Indiana

Issue Date: Thursday, November 26, 1942

Page: Page 2

 

James, visited relatives in Odon. Ind. last week. While there they were entertained by their nephew, Ralph Ritchey, a U. S. Sailor in the Pacific Fleet who was home on furlough.

[aznation]

Publication: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Issue Date: Wednesday, September 25, 1946

Page: Page 21

 

Applications for Marriage Licenses

 

Zola Cambron. 24, Vincennes, Ind., and Ralph Ritchey, 26. Odon. Ind.

[aznation]

Source: FamilySearch.org

[P-59A]

Source: FamilySearch.org

I am still stunned at your ability to dig up information. Well done!

[JakeBird6684]

Thanks so much aznation, I could never of found any of this information, now I have to put it all in a binder

[aznation]

Posted Today, 01:05 PM

aznation, on 25 Aug 2019 - 12:18 PM, said:

Source: FamilySearch.org

I am still stunned at your ability to dig up information. Well done!

 

Thank you for the comment P-59A. I appreciate it!

 

Posted Today, 03:07 PM

Thanks so much aznation, I could never of found any of this information, now I have to put it all in a binder

 

You're welcome JakeBird6684. Personally, I really love the uniform. It's looks awesome!

[sigsaye]

Amazing information! Thank you so much! I also love the uniform! Now, we know more of the story. He was on a Gator, landing troops on Okinawa. Those guys sat 1 mile off the beach, stationary, so they could control boats ( I served as boat crew on an LKA/AKA). Plus, was a BM on replenishment ships ( a VERY hard life). He was where the action was for much of his career. Towards the end, Old Boats, got that Dream Job of running a Reserve Center. Now, TO ME, this went from a $20 uniform, to $150+. Thank you. Old Boats was indeed a Sailor!

 

Just for back ground, my uncle, USN, 1939-1960. Dad, USN, 1947-1967, Me, USN, 1972-1999. Son, USN, 2009-2011, (Disabled Vet). Sister, USN, 1998-present, Brother-in-law, USN, 1995-Present, nephew, USN, 2010- Present. We love our uniforms. But they incompase a whole career. Not just one day.

 

Great uniform. Thank you for sharing. I have the dress Khakis of an SMC, who was a WW2 Vet, who did 20 years, past 1958. But, sadly, no ID. I have no clue who this brother Chief Signalman was. Glad you could track down sold Boats.

[paddlefishes]

On 8/25/2019 at 9:43 AM, aznation said:

Publication: News-Press

Location: Fort Myers, Florida

Issue Date: Tuesday, December 3, 1991

Page: Page 66

 

PEARL HARBOR TUESDAY. DECEMBER 3,

Pearl Harbor THE DAY: DEC.7,1941

I’ll never forget, or forgive

By KEVIN LOLLAR News-Press Staff Writer

 

Southwest Florida veterans who were at Pearl Harbor recall the nightmare Ritchey says. "I was just a kid standing in the bow of the launch, and I happened to look toward Ford Island and saw all these planes way up there. I thought they were ours practicing. "Then I saw the bombs coming, and the Rising Sun. A plane dropped a torpedo, and it went right underneath our launch kids were jumping out left and right; I was scared to death and it hit the Oglala. "We dropped off the people in the launch, then went back to where the people were in the water and picked them up. Then we went back to our battle stations. "The coxswain on the launch was a fellow named Baker. He went to his battle station in the stern of the Pennsylvania; a bomb exploded back there. I never saw him again. "I never smoked in my life before that, but that day, I smoked a carton of cigarettes." The Pennsylvania suffered minor damage in the attack; On a typically beautiful Hawaiian morning, 21-year-old Louis Poehler and his brother Elmer sat on the fantail of the light cruiser USS St Louis with their tennis rackets. The idea was to play a couple of sets, then head for a favorite watering hole for a few drinks. Just before 8 o'clock that morning Dec. 7, 1941 the sky to the south of the St. Louis turned smoky with flak. "Look at those poor son of a guns over at Hickam," Elmer said. "They're having gunnery practice on a Sunday morning." Louis Poehler turned and saw more than anti-aircraft fire. "I said, “Like hell! Look what's coming," says Poehler, now of Fort Myers Beach. "I could see them, one after another, peeling down; honest to God, they were torpedo planes, and I could see that big meatball on the side. There was fear and a futility at not being able to do much, and knowing your ship was gone." John Glass, USS West Virginia war. "We heard, All hands, general quarters, then: “This is no drill.” We got our guns going, I ain't kidding. And the Japs were coming in so low, if I'd had a baseball, I could have hit them. "It was so confusing out there. Then I saw a torpedo slam into the side of the West Virginia." West Virginia sank after being hit by seven torpedoes and two bombs. The St. Louis, under the command of Capt. George A. Rood, barreled out of the harbor, with the gun crews blazing away at the attacking planes. "Lucky Lou" was the only large ship to get out of the harbor and into the open ocean. But before she could do anything, her crew had to weld shut a 4 foot-diameter hole that had been cut in the hull for boiler repairs. "And we had all these cables and stuff aboard, so when the shooting started, everybody was out with fire axes cutting those damned cables so we could get the hell out of there," Poehler says. "Normally, when you come out, you have two or three tugs backing you out, but the skipper backed 'er out like he was driving a car. Twenty-three-year-old John Glass, a radioman aboard the West Virginia, felt the torpedo. Like the Poehlers, Glass was getting ready to go ashore just before 8 a.m. "I'd just taken a shower, and I was standing there in my skivvies, when I heard the alarm, “Away fire and rescue party,” says Glass, who lives in Cape Coral. "Then somebody looked out a porthole and said, 'Look at it burn!' "Then we got the call to general quarters. That's when the first torpedo hit. It knocked me right off my feet. I was a radioman, so my battle station was on the bridge, and that's where I went, still in my skivvies." At the same time, 22-year-old Ralph Ritchey, now of Lehigh Acres, was aboard a 50-foot motor launch returning from shore to the USS Pennsylvania, which was in dry dock. The launch passed the St. Louis on its way up the Southeast Loch, then turned into battleship row. "Everybody was more or less stunned. That night, two or three planes came in, and everybody started shooting at them. But they were our planes." Ralph Ritchey," USS Pennsylvania. "We were really firing at those Japanese son of a guns. A few days after the attack, my brother and I ran into two guys at a bar who said, “You guys were firing your guns so fast, we thought you were on fire.” Everything was just Bam! Bam! Bam! We had a gun crew that was out of this world, boy." The St. Louis was credited with three Japanese planes shot down that morning.

 

can you put the link where you found this