RALPH HICKOX, LCDR, USN
Ralph Hickox '27
Lucky Bag
From the 1927 Lucky Bag:
Biography & Loss
From Navsource:
Ralph Hickox was born 29 August 1903 in Washington D.C. Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps 23 September 1921, he was appointed to Annapolis 18 July 1923 and commissioned ensign 2 June 1927. In the peacetime Navy Hickox served in a variety of ships and stations and was finally appointed commanding officer of the destroyer USS Truxtun (DD-229) on 3 October 1941. He had been commissioned lieutenant commander 1 July of that year. When his ship went aground in heavy seas off St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, 18 February 1942, Lt. Comdr. Hickox remained on the bridge directing rescue operations in a cool and fearless manner which inspired the officers and men under him and was instrumental in effecting the rescue of many of the members of his crew. Tragically Lt. Commander Hickox was swept from the bridge by the pounding seas and lost. 119 members of her crew lost their lives in the heavy seas and with the assistance of the local residents 33 survivors were rescued.
Ralph was lost when USS Truxtun (DD 229) grounded in Newfoundland on February 18, 1942. He was the ship's commanding officer since October 3, 1941.
The book "Standing Into Danger" by Cassie Brown detail's Truxtun's loss, as well as the loss of USS Pollux (AKS 2) and USS Wilkes (DD 441). The website "Dead Reckoning: The Pollux-Truxtun Disaster" is also devoted to the topic.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Namesake
USS Hickox (DD 673) was named for Ralph; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
Related Articles
Elmer D. Anderson '35, James W. Danforth '38, and Arthur L. Newman '34 were also lost when Truxton was grounded.
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.
January 1928
Ensign, USS California
Others at this command:
April 1928
Ensign, USS California
Others at this command:
July 1928
Ensign, USS Somers
October 1928
Ensign, USS Somers
January 1929
Ensign, USS Somers
April 1929
Ensign, USS Somers
July 1929
Ensign, USS Somers
October 1929
Ensign, USS Somers
January 1930
Ensign, USS Somers
April 1930
Ensign, USS Buchanan
October 1930
Lieutenant (j.g.), temporary orders, National Board Elections, Nicaragua
Others at this command:
January 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
April 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
July 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
October 1931
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
January 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
Others at this command:
October 1932
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Louisville
Others at this command:
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Vireo
October 1933
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Vireo
April 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Leary
Others at this command:
July 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Leary
Others at this command:
October 1934
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Leary
January 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Leary
April 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), USS Leary
October 1935
Lieutenant (j.g.), under instruction, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Robert Winters '27
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Academy
Others at this command:
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Robert Winters '27
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Academy
Others at this command:
CDR Samuel Moore '13
LT William Gray '21
LT John French '22
LT Howard Healy '22
LT Edward Metcalfe '22
LT Eugene Elmore '22
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Robert Winters '27
Others at or embarked at this command:
July 1936
Lieutenant (j.g.), Naval Academy
Others at this command:
LT John French '22
LT Hubert Hayter '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27
LTjg William Potts '27
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1937
Lieutenant, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
LT John French '22
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg James McRoberts '27
Others at or embarked at this command:
April 1937
Lieutenant, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
LT John French '22
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LTjg James McRoberts '27
Others at or embarked at this command:
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Training Plane Squadron (VN) 8D5, Naval Academy)
September 1937
Lieutenant, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
LT Robert Bedilion '22
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LTjg John Bermingham '29
LTjg Egbert Roth '29
Others at or embarked at this command:
January 1938
Lieutenant, Naval Academy
Others at this command:
LT Robert Bedilion '22
LT William Hobby, Jr. '23
LT Richard Baron '24
LT Richard Gingras '25
LT Harold Pound '25
LT William Graham, Jr. '25
LT Andrew Harris '25
LT John Bermingham '29
LT Egbert Roth '29
Others at or embarked at this command:
October 1939
Lieutenant, USS Erie
June 1940
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Hilary P. Jones
November 1940
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Hilary P. Jones
April 1941
Lieutenant, executive officer, USS Hilary P. Jones
Class of 1927
Ralph is one of 43 members of the Class of 1927 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
