RALPH E. FORSYTH, COL, USMC

Ralph Forsyth '22

Date of birth: January 13, 1901

Date of death: June 24, 1944

Age: 43

Lucky Bag

From the 1922 Lucky Bag:

RALPH EDWARD FORSYTH

Sayre, Pennsylvania

"Stony," "Boresight," "Chesty," "GooGoo."

SMOOTH, shiny black hair and those eyes, which hold all the mysteries of a midsummer night's dream! In his more tender years this Pet may have been a little backward, but once started—"Stand from under," especially if it's the night after an Army-Navy Game. Now, dear reader, you I have an idea, not of a movie hero, but just of "Boresight," Sayre's most promising son.

The first thing he caught as a Plebe was flu, the second was hell. Many inhabitants of the First Wing will recall the rattle of a court window accompanied by those vociferous wailings, "Mr. Boresight." After Plebe Year all went well, and according to regulations, until the fateful month of Segregation. Since then he's the proud possessor of several months more sea service than that called for by the Practice Cruises. We sure missed him while he was gone, for knowledge imparted to roommates has kept the high cost of red ink down in several departments.

Black N****

RALPH EDWARD FORSYTH

Sayre, Pennsylvania

"Stony," "Boresight," "Chesty," "GooGoo."

SMOOTH, shiny black hair and those eyes, which hold all the mysteries of a midsummer night's dream! In his more tender years this Pet may have been a little backward, but once started—"Stand from under," especially if it's the night after an Army-Navy Game. Now, dear reader, you I have an idea, not of a movie hero, but just of "Boresight," Sayre's most promising son.

The first thing he caught as a Plebe was flu, the second was hell. Many inhabitants of the First Wing will recall the rattle of a court window accompanied by those vociferous wailings, "Mr. Boresight." After Plebe Year all went well, and according to regulations, until the fateful month of Segregation. Since then he's the proud possessor of several months more sea service than that called for by the Practice Cruises. We sure missed him while he was gone, for knowledge imparted to roommates has kept the high cost of red ink down in several departments.

Black N****

Loss

Ralph was killed in action on June 24, 1944 on Saipan when artillery fire impacted the 10th Marine Regiment's fire direction center. He was executive officer of the 10th Marines. He had come ashore with his unit the second day of the attack and had directed artillery fire continuously thereafter.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

From The Evening Times, Sayre, January 24, 1933:

Lieutenant Forsyth arrived in Quantico, Va., the Marine base, on January 15 after having served for three years in Nicaragua where he was assigned to the Nicaraguan National Guard with a commission as captain and where, “for valiant services rendered to the republic” President J. M. Moncada of Nicaragua conferred upon the Sayreite the Medal of Merit of the country.
On conferring the medal, President Moncada said of Captain Forsyth that he “served as adjutant of the Area del Norte from April 1930 to May 1931. Captain Forsyth performed his duties in a satisfactory manner, efficiently and worthy of praise in the most difficult circumstances. Moreover, participating in the active maneuvers of the campaign against the armed forces of the bandits of Nicaragua, has shown himself to be a very capable leader of patrols."

Ralph married Ruth Thompson in Cavite, Philippines, in 1924. Their daughter Jean was born in Manila.
In November 1937, Ralph and his wife attended the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia.
Ralph was with the Marine force that captured Tarawa in November, 1943.
On Wednesday, March 28, 1945, a separate candle for Ralph was blessed at the Church of the Redeemer in Sayre. Every Sunday since the war began, candles were lighted for members of the armed forces.
At times, the family name Forsyth is spelled Forsythe. In 1920, his father Grant was an engine inspector at the railroad repair shop. His sister Jean was a stenographer, and his brother Howard Yost was an apprentice at the same shop. His mother was Sarah, and his other sister was Margaret. Howard was a Marine from August, 1918, to February 1919. He became a forester and died in May 1968. Ralph’s grandmother lived with them and died in August, 1915, after a short fall from steps at their house.

From Online Archive of California:

Ralph E. Forsyth was a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. He was born on January 31, 1901 in Sayre, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, he joined the Marine Corps on June 3, 1922. He then served in the Philippine Islands from March 23, 1924 to August 16, 1926; in China from February 3, 1927 to October 31, 1928; Nicaragua from February 21, 1930 to January 15, 1933; and finally in the Asia Pacific from November 3, 1942 to June 24, 1944. He died on June 28, 1944 in Saipan while in combat. In 1945, members from his artillery regiment, the 10th Marines, named a training camp in his honor. During his long service he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation with ribbon bar and one star, the Nicaraguan Medal of Merit with diploma, Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, and the Victory Medal. He was married to Ruth Forsyth.

He was survived by his wife; he is buried in Hawaii.

Photographs

From the Evening star on September 1, 1935
From The Evening Times on July 20, 1944

Legion of Merit

From Hall of Valor:

(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Ralph E. Forsyth (MCSN: 0-3796), United States Marine Corps, was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the period from August 1941 through June 1944.
Service: Marine Corps
General Orders: Heroes U.S. Marine Corps, 1861 - 1955: Jane Blakeney

Other

San Diego State University has some of Ralph's papers:

The Colonel Ralph E. Forsyth Collection primarily consists of loose album pages, which document Forsyth's military service in Nicaragua. Although the collection dates from 1924 to 1976, the vast majority of photographs seem to date from the early 1930s and include scenes of the Nicaraguan jungle and coast, photographs of Ruth Forsyth, military camp life, Marines, wedding photographs of unidentified couples, a few family photographs, and more. The collection also has several loose photographs of the same subject matter. A few of these photographs have brief captions, but in general both the album and loose photographs have little to no description. Of particular interest is a page with partially burned photographs, apparently salvaged from some sort of wreck (the caption is unclear). Also included are photocopies of a letter from one of Forsyth's comrades to Ruth telling her of how the 10th Marines named a training camp in Forsyth's memory, and several other Marine Corps documents, such as a certificate, and an application for Second World War compensation dating from 1944 and 1945.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

May 1923

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Barracks, Naval Base San Diego, California

July 1923

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Barracks, Naval Base San Diego, California

September 1923

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Barracks, Naval Base San Diego, California

November 1923

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Barracks, Naval Base San Diego, California

January 1924

2nd Lieutenant, Marine Barracks, Naval Base San Diego, California