RALPH C. MANN, JR., 1LT, USMC

Ralph Mann, Jr. '39

Date of birth: October 26, 1915

Date of death: September 5, 1942

Age: 26

Lucky Bag

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

RALPH CARLTON MANN

Judsonia, Arkansas

A combination of a scholar and an athlete, Ralph is the ideal type of man one seldom meets. Starting Plebe year in what promised to be a brilliant athletic career, he was stopped for a time by injuries; but doggedly persistent, he succeeded in overcoming his reverses. Youngster year found him handling left field on the varsity nine. By steadily upholding his good record in studies and at the same time being a versatile player on the diamond, he has shown himself to be an all around man. His conversation, forceful and interesting, makes him a pleasant companion, and his Southern accent immediately identifies him. Determination will carry him far in life, and the Navy will find his varied capabilities valuable when he wears his commission star.

Football 4, 2, 1; Baseball 4, 3, 2, 1, N*; 3 Stripes.

RALPH CARLTON MANN

Judsonia, Arkansas

A combination of a scholar and an athlete, Ralph is the ideal type of man one seldom meets. Starting Plebe year in what promised to be a brilliant athletic career, he was stopped for a time by injuries; but doggedly persistent, he succeeded in overcoming his reverses. Youngster year found him handling left field on the varsity nine. By steadily upholding his good record in studies and at the same time being a versatile player on the diamond, he has shown himself to be an all around man. His conversation, forceful and interesting, makes him a pleasant companion, and his Southern accent immediately identifies him. Determination will carry him far in life, and the Navy will find his varied capabilities valuable when he wears his commission star.

Football 4, 2, 1; Baseball 4, 3, 2, 1, N*; 3 Stripes.

Loss

Ralph was captured following the fall of Corregidor; he later died as a prisoner on September 5, 1942. He commanded a guard detail at Bataan HQ.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In 1930 Harrison, Arkansas, his father Ralph was a newspaper publisher, mother Winnie was a teacher, brother Thomas, and sister Janis.

He has a memory marker in Arkansas; his father is listed as next of kin.

Photographs

From the Lucky Bag

Class of 1939 Marines at the Fall of Corregidor

At least seven Marines of the Class of 1939 were captured by the Japanese when Corregidor fell in May 1942; six of them perished in captivity. Four were awarded the Navy Cross for their heroism and distinguished service in six months of combat under arduous and increasingly desperate conditions. A fifth was awarded the Navy Cross for action in the Korean War.

Two men — William Hogaboom and Willard Holdredge — had extremely similar experiences, and are often mentioned together in after-action reports. Carter Simpson's was also similar; he also managed to keep an exceptionally interesting diary that survived the war. All three of these Marines were killed during or immediately after the attack on Oryoku Maru on December 14, 1945.

A fourth classmate, Ralph Mann, Jr., died in captivity in September 1942.

The final two, Hugh Tistadt, Jr. and John Fantone, survived the Oryoku Maru attack but perished in POW camps a few months later.

A seventh classmate, William Harris, was also captured, but escaped by swimming across Manila Bay from Corregidor to Bataan on May 22, 1942. He was later recaptured and tortured by the Japanese but survived the war to personally witness the Japanese surrender aboard USS Missouri. He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his heroism in the Korean War.

Prisoner of War

From Hall of Valor:

First Lieutenant Ralph Carlton Mann, Jr (MCSN: 0-5919), United States Marine Corps, was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor on 6 May 1942, and was held as a Prisoner of War until his death while still in captivity.
General Orders: NARA Database: Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created, 1942 - 1947
Action Date: May 7, 1942 - June 11, 1943
Service: Marine Corps
Rank: First Lieutenant
Division: Prisoner of War (Philippine Islands)

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.