Ralph Hungerford
Ralph Waldo Hungerford was born on April 21, 1896, in Windsor, New York, and had a distinguished 31-year career in the US Navy that spanned two world wars. Hungerford's illustrious naval career began when he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1915, but his four-year term was shortened to three under the pressure of World War I. In 1918, just before the war's end, he accepted a commission in the US Navy.
Throughout the interwar period, Hungerford gained recognition as one of the Navy's most promising young officers and was assigned to duty stations both in the United States and South America. He was director of the Naval Reserves at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1940 to 1941 but returned to the sea shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack.
As an anti-submarine warfare specialist, Hungerford served as Commander of all escort units in the North Atlantic convoys, trusted with ensuring the safe transport of vital supplies to England and the Soviet Union. For the skill he displayed in outmaneuvering enemy submarines along the convoy route, Hungerford was awarded the Legion of Merit in 1943. He was among the first Naval officers to receive this distinguished decoration.
Captain Hungerford receives the Legion of Merit from Vice Admiral Jonas Ingram on January 14, 1943.
Hungerford was stationed in the Pacific theater for the remainder of the war, holding several destroyer commands and went on to serve as the 33rd Governor of the US territory of American Samoa in 1945. Faced with the daunting task of restoring the island to a pre-war economy, he worked to cut unemployment, revitalize the fishing industry, re-open schools, and remove anti-submarine defenses.
Captain Hungerford's ribbon bar, worn in the final years of his service. He was awarded the Legion of Merit, WWI Victory Medal, Haitian Campaign Medal, American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal, European Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Order of the Black Star (France), and the Navy Expert Rifle Medal.
He retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1949 after 31 years of service. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, WWI Victory Medal, Haitian Campaign Medal, American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal, European Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, Order of the Black Star (France), and the Navy Expert Rifle Medal. Hungerford passed away in 1977 in Pennsylvania and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Captain Hungerford's original WWII era dog tag.