On this
Memorial Day Weekend, we, as a nation recognize the men and
Somehow,
having a day off from work, grilling or BBQ with friends, or perhaps putting a
flag on the front porch, just does not appear to be appropriate or enough to
thank the men and women that died. What should we do? What is appropriate?
Perhaps you do not live near a national cemetery so you cannot place flags at
tombstones. Perhaps you do not live near a military base and cannot tour it.
However, you can take a moment and reflect on all that you have done in the
past year that you might not have been able to do if we did not live in a free
country. Take the time to explain the meaning and purpose of the “holiday” to
your children. Find a veteran or family that lost a loved one and express your
gratitude. Each of these are a good step in the right direction, but I would
encourage you do something else. Think about all the men and women that lost
their lives on a battlefield and all the things they might have done or
accomplished had they lived. Could there have been another scientist that might
have found a cure to cancer? Could there have been an engineer that discovered
a new form of energy? We cannot replace their lost contributions but we can
live each day with a renewed purpose. Do a little extra in an attempt to make
up for all the lost contributions. This has weighed on me a lot through the
years. I guess that is one of the reasons I did as much as I could while
healthy.
My family
has not had an immediate member die in service, but we have known several that
have died. Three Marines I graduated boot camp with died in the Beirut bombing.
My swim buddy from Combatant Dive School (think SCUBA school with demolitions) and
partner in crime at several “high speed” schools, retired as a Marine First
Sergeant (he was Force Recon) and was killed the following year while working with
OGA in Afghanistan. My maternal grandfather lost a lot of shipmates while
serving aboard the USS Helena in the
Pacific Theater during WWII. My grandfather survived and he worked hard after
retiring from the US Navy. The remainder of this post is his story. If you have
similar stories, please share them.
Charles Ray
Ridge MCPO, USN (Ret)
(b) 21 JUN
1915 -- (d) 22 NOV
1979
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| 1949. (Then) CPO C R Ridge. |
My
grandfather enlisted in United States Navy in 1940 before the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor on 07 DEC 1941. He soon received a Metalsmith rating and received
orders for sea duty. He spent a lot of time in the South Pacific and was aboard
the Light Cruiser USS Helena (CL-50)
when it sank. A Light Cruiser is a long-range warship capable of operating independently
and could defeat any enemy surface ship apart from a battleship, but was fast
enough to outrun it.
On 06 JUL
1943, the Helena was one of three light cruisers and four destroyers that
attacked 10 Japanese destroyers off the coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon
Islands. This naval battle would be known as the Battle of Kula Gulf.
 |
| USS Helena (CL-50). |
Within 21
minutes of opening fire, the Helena
helped sink the destroyer Niizuki which
served as Admiral Teruo Akiyama’s flag ship. He was among the 324 Enemy KIA.
The enemy vessels then turned their guns on the Helena. She was hit and began to sink. The battle lasted about five
hours when both sides began to withdraw. Two US destroyers—Radford and Nicholas—and one
enemy destroyer Amagiri remained to
rescue survivors. It was the Amagiri
that later rammed and cut in half PT-109, captained by Lieutenant (JG) John F.
Kennedy.
The Helena sank and the entire ship’s
compliment of 888 officers and men found themselves in the shark infested
waters. At daylight, the Radford and Nicholas were able to rescue all but 275
survivors before they had to withdraw to repel attacks from enemy aircraft. The
survivors clinging to the nearly submerged hull were strafed by enemy aircraft.
Eighty-eight men were able to make their way to a nearby small island. Of the
nearly 200 men remaining, four lifeboats were dropped for them in which they
placed their wounded and dead shipmates. The wind and current worked against
them taking them further out to sea. On the third day, they were able to beach
on Vella Lavella. Coastwatchers reported their position and on the evening of
16 JUL, ten days after the opening salvo, 165 men were rescued. Total loss of
life from Helena: 168. My grandfather
was one of the survivors rescued from Vella Lavella. For her actions at the Battles
of Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, and Kula Gulf, she was the first ship to
receive the Navy Unit Commendation. She was also one of the few ships to be
mentioned by Tokyo Rose during a radio program after she sank two ships at the
Battle of Cape Esperance. Rose called her the “machine gun ship”.
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| Route of USS Helena survivors. |
After his
time in the Pacific, he transitioned to shore duty where he worked as recruiter.
He returned to sea aboard the Destroyer USS Rooks
(DD-804). He would complete his enlistment on the Aircraft Carrier USS Antietam (CV-36) when it was home ported
in 1959 at NAS Pensacola. For the next four years, it served as an aviation
training vessel ship for newly winged pilots until she was decommissioned. My
grandfather married my grandmother on 04 MAY 1940 and remained together until
his death. Together they raised three daughters: Brenda (oldest) and twins Kay
and Gay. He had a total of five grandsons and one granddaughter. After his
retirement he worked for Delta Airlines. He enjoyed reading, especially poetry.
I have one of his books. He would read anything and loved learning. I can “relate”
to that.
So on this
Memorial Day Weekend, I want to say thanks to my grandfather for giving your
best years in service to this great country. To the three boot camp buddies
killed in Lebanon; to my buddy killed in Afghanistan, and to all the men and
women that gave their all, you have my sincere, humble and heartfelt gratitude.
I lift my glass in recognition to your sacrifice.
Semper Fidelis and Bravo Zulu.
To learn more about the sinking of USS Helena, read this book available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
