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| Torpedoman 1/c Fred Ravin and John Ravin, served on the USS Canopus and USS Aaron Ward, respectively. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74433587/frederick-scott-ravin https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74433620/john-crockett-ravin http://www.tendertale.com/tenders/109/109.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Aaron_Ward_(DD-483) |
Frederick Scott Ravin never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 23, 1918. I was not able to find census information about his family. His mother was still alive in the 1940s and he had at least one brother, John.
Frederick enlisted in the US Navy on October 17, 1936. He was still in the navy five years later, serving as a torpedoman first class on the submarine tender USS Canopus which was stationed in the Philippines before the war started. Canopus was soon damaged and its crew sent to defend Corregidor. Fred may have been sent to Bataan instead. Regardless, Fred was wounded in January 1942 and he became a prisoner of war when the Americans surrendered.
His family probably got word that Fred was a POW, but it could have been a year or more before news got back home.
Younger brother John, five years younger than Fred, enlisted in the US Navy on August 15, 1938. He also became a torpedoman first class serving on the destroyer USS Aaron Ward. It operated in the Guadalcanal area beginning in mid-September 1942. Aaron Ward took part in the climatic Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in the early morning hours of November 13. Its aggressive actions likely destroyed the Japanese destroyer Akatsuki. During the battle Aaron Ward suffered nine major hits and withdrew when it was no longer able to fight effectively. Casualties included 57 injured and 17 dead, including John Ravin.
Word of John's death probably did not reach Fred. At some point during the war he was transported to a prison camp in Mukden, China. On December 7, 1944, Fred Ravin was killed by bombs dropped during a B-29 bombing mission.
The Ravin brothers are buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland, Oregon. The local American Legion Post was named in their honor.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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