During World War II, on August 1, 1943, fifteen patrol torpedo (PT) boats were ordered on a mission to intercept five Japanese enemy destroyers in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese were scheduled to make a run that night from Bougainville to Vila to offload soldiers and supplies. As the destroyers approached, the PT boats made an unsuccessful attack that scored not one single hit from the thirty torpedoes fired. With their ordinance expended the boats were recalled to Rendova, leaving three of their number to continue patrolling the area in case the enemy returned.
On the moonless night of August 2nd, one of the boats was idling on one engine to avoid detection. They suddenly realized they were in the path of an oncoming Japanese destroyer. It was one of the enemy ships returning from Vila and the crew had failed to hear it approaching over their idling engine. The men had no chance to get out of the way before being run down by the destroyer, cutting their boat in half and leaving the PT-109 burning. Two of the men were killed and two others were badly injured as they struggled in the shark infested waters. The other two PT boats turned away and high tailed it for home without ever checking for survivors among their hapless comrades. The boat’s heroic skipper and later President of the United States, John F. Kennedy led his men through the treacherous waters to a nearby island called "Plum Pudding Island" (aka Bird Island) where they were eventually discovered by natives. PT-157, known as "Old Pickle Puss," was dispatched to pick up Kennedy and his men. Two corpsmen (formerly known as Pharmacist Mates), Fred Thomas Ratchford Sr. and William J. Lawrence were aboard the PT-157 to provide medical treatment to the survivors.
Fred was born on November 18, 1919 to William T. and Minnie McCasland Ratchford in Searcy County, Arkansas. He was the grandson of Thomas Jesse McCaland and Mary Stanley Thomas and the great grandson of James Clark "Muck" Thomas and Elizabeth Josephine Lawrence. James Clark was the fourth child of James Thomas Jr. of Trigg County, Kentucky.
Fred enlisted in the US Navy on May 19, 1937 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Following the devastation of Pearl Harbor, the Navy desperately needed their submarines and patrol boats to carry the fight to the enemy until their fleet could be restored to strength. Fred was assigned to Patrol Boat Squadron #9 on November 23, 1942 on the island of Rendova. On August 8, 1943, Fred set out with his crew on PT-157 and the accompanying PT-171 to pick up the located survivors of PT-109. He and his fellow corpsman set about treating their injuries before running the gauntlet back to their base through the enemy infested waters.
Fred survived the war and returned home to his family. He would retire as a Chief Warrant Officer and returned to Pensacola, Florida. President Kennedy never forgot the men that rescued him and even invited
them to his inauguration in Washington, D.C. after winning the
presidency.
He would pass away on August 29, 1985 and was buried in Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola.
(Thanks to the website, Unique History of Pensacola, for the above information.)
Fred Thomas Ratchford, Sr. Tombstone
THE LINEAGE:
(Fred Thomas Ratchford was the son of William Thomas and Minnie Viola McCasland Ratchford, grandson of Thomas Jesse and Mary Stanley Thomas McCasland and grandson of James Clark "Muck" and Mary Elizabeth Josephine Lawrence Thomas. James Clark was the fourth child of James, Jr. and Margaret Ethridge Thomas. James Thomas, Jr. was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
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