World War II Honoree

Ralph Curtis Battles

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Boaz, Alabama

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Fireman Second Class. He was inducted into the United States Navy July 5, 1940 at Birmingham, Alabama, with recruit training at the U.S. Naval Training Station Great Lakes, Illinois. Upon his graduation from boot camp and Fire Training, he was transferred to the USS Oklahoma Battleship, BB-37 for duty as a Fireman, and based at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii. On Sunday Morning, December 7, 1941 the Emperor of Japan’s Naval Aviators launched a devastating, surprise attack on the U.S. Naval Base, and other military installations on Oahu. The Oklahoma moored on Ford Island along with her shipmates came under attack, and she sustained multiple torpedo strikes, which caused the warship to capsize. Reported missing in action, lost at sea on the day of the attack. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the Honolulu National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific ‘Punchbowl’ Hawaii. In his Memory and Honor, a cenotaph memorial has been placed at the Hillcrest Cemetery in Boaz, Alabama. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.