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Frederic H. Ramsey

NAME
Frederic Haynes Ramsey
NICKNAME
SERVICE NUMBER
O-4951
UNIT
Marine Detachment
USS Houston
Detachment Commander
HOME OF RECORD
4868 Delmonte Avenue
San Diego, CA
NEXT OF KIN
Wife, Mrs. Patricia Ramsey
DATE OF BIRTH
July 21, 1910
at Portland, OR
ENTERED SERVICE
September 27, 1930 (enlisted)
March 24, 1934 (commissioned)
DATE OF LOSS
March 1, 1942
alt. February 28, 1942
REGION
Java Sea
CAMPAIGN / AREA
Sunda Strait
CASUALTY TYPE
Missing In Action
Declared Dead March 1, 1943
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS

Captain Ramsey was the commanding officer of the Marine detachment aboard the USS Houston.

On the night of 28 February 1942, the Houston was engaged by a superior Japanese fleet in the Java Sea. After a ferocious fight, the Houston went down in the waters of Sunda Strait. Several hundred of her complement escaped the sinking ship and struggled in the water for hours before being picked up and taken prisoner.

Captain Ramsey was seen in the water wearing his life preserver but was not reported as a prisoner of war, and likely drowned or was killed in the aftermath of the sinking. He was declared dead by the Secretary of the Navy on 1 March, 1943.

INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS
Purple Heart
LAST KNOWN RANK
Captain
STATUS OF REMAINS
Lost at sea
MEMORIALS
Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, OR
Manila American Cemetery

Biography:
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