De Arellano
Marion Frederic Ramirez de Arellano
Marion Frederic Ramirez de Arellano was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the capital of the island, on August 5, 1913. He was the son of Professor Rafael W. de Arellano and Professor Lucille Kemmerer Ramirez de Arellano of the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras.
When he was just a child, his parents moved for a short period of time to Athens, Georgia where he began grade school. The family soon returned to the island and both his parents found employment as professors at the University of Puerto Rico. Ramirez de Arellano continued his education in Puerto Rico and after he graduated from high school, he attended that university for two years prior to his entrance to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, as a Midshipman from Puerto Rico, on July 21, 1931
He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy by Theodore Roosevelt, Jr, son of former Preisdent Theodore Roosevelt, who was the Governor of Puerto Rico from 1929 to 1932. Ramirez de Arellano excelled in sports in the Academy, earning varsity letters in soccer, tennis, and gymnastics. He also won the Society of the Cincinnati prize for highest standing in the course for the Department of Languages. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935.
Upon his graduation, he was commissioned an Ensign and assigned to the USS Ranger, the first ship of the United States Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. He served aboard as Gunnery Officer from 1935 to 1937. It is uncertain why he became interested in submarines but he volunteered for that duty and from 1937 to 1938, he attended Submarine School at Groton, Connecticut.
In 1938, Ramirez de Arellano was assigned as Division Officer of the USS Pickerel, a Porpoise-class submarine. Pickerel was a relatively new submarine having only been commissioned in 1937 and had been transferred to the Pacific when Ramirez de Arellano was assigned to her. Her port of operations was moved to the Philippines and she was training near the Philippines when on December 8, 1941 the islands were attacked by Japan. She was ordered to the coast of Indo-China and conducted her first war patrol off Cam Ranh Bay and Tourane Harbor. She tracked a Japanese submarine and a destroyer but lost them in haze and rain squalls before they came in torpedo range. On December 19th she also missed a small Japanese patrol craft with five torpedoes, before returning to Manila Bay on the 29 of December 1941, her first war patrol over. Ramirez de Arellano had now experienced war.
On her second patrol began two days later, remaining only long enough to reload torpedoes and stores. Pickerel left Manila on December 31, 1941 and conducted a patrol that ran between Manila to Surabaya, the submarine sank the 2,929-ton ex-gunboat Kanko Maru on January 10, 1942 in a two ship attack. The first ship was thought to have been a 5000 ton Cargo Ship and 3 torpedoes were fired in a night time underwater attack. Two hits were detected but no confirmation of sinking though the patrol reports claimed such. Attack two sank the Kanko Maru. Pickerel had drawn blood in the Gulf of Davao off Mindanao.
On her third war patrol (February 7 to March 19, 1942), under the command of Lt Cdr John R. McKnight, along the Malay Barrier and her fourth (April 15 to June 6, 1942) in the Philippines, she failed to sink any ships but on April 26 she claimed to have damaged the Takasago Maru in the Manipa Straits. After the attack the CO spotted red crosses in the boat deck. The Takasago Maru was a hospital ship.
Pickerel’s fifth war patrol (July 10 to August 26, 1942) was a voyage from Brisbane, Australia, to Pearl Harbor for refit, with a short patrol in the Marianas, en-route. On August 1, 1942 she sighted 4800 ton cargo ship and fired two torpedoes from a night time underwater attack and claimed one hit but there is no post war confirmation of the damage. These claimed hits could be due to the faulty magnetic exploders.
Ramirez de Arellano participated in five war patrols with the Pickerel and led the effort to rescue five Navy pilots and one enlisted gunner off Wake Island. He also contributed to the sinking of two Japanese freighters and damaging a third.
After a brief stint at the Navy Yard on Mare Island, he was reassigned to the USS Skate, a Balao class submarine as the Executive Officer and navigator. He participated in the Skates first three war patrols.
The first patrol began on September 25, 1943 which headed toward Wake Island and her first war patrol during which she performed lifeguard duty for the carriers during air strikes against that Japanese-held island. At dawn on 6 October, the submarine was strafed by enemy aircraft, mortally wounding one of her officers, Willis Edward Maxson, III, as he attempted to assist wounded airmen from a life raft. Maxson was brother officer to Ramirez de Arellano and the only man to be lost from Skate during the war.
The next day, Skate closed to within 5,000 yards of the beach, in the face of heavy enemy bombardment, to rescue two downed aviators. While searching for a third, she was attacked by a Japanese dive-bomber, and was forced to dive to escape. After a short return to Midway, Skate returned to Wake Island and rescued four additional airmen before terminating her first patrol at Midway on 29 October.
The second patrol on Skate for Ramirez de Arellano began on November 15, 1943 Skate departed Midway for her second war patrol. This was conducted off Truk in the Caroline Islands. Ten days later on November 25, she sighted the masts of five warships; but, after firing a spread of torpedoes at overlapping aircraft carriers, she was forced down by depth charging by their escort ships.
While north of Truk on December 21, the submarine torpedoed and sank the cargo ship Terukawa Maru of 6433 tons in a twilight submerged attack. A four torpedoes spread was used that scored 3 hits. During a rain squall on Christmas day 1943, she made a daring submerged attack which damaged the battleship Yamato, the pride of the Japanese Fleet. Skate returned to Midway for refit on January 7, 1944.
Skate's third war patrol was again conducted in the area of the Carolines, in support of operation 'Hailstone,' the carrier air strikes on Truk. On February 16, the evening before the air strike, Skate intercepted the Japanese light cruiser Agano, which had survived a previous torpedo attack by submarine Scamp (SS-277).
Skate fired four torpedoes for three certain hits that engulfed the ship in a shroud of smoke as the submarine submerged to evade heavy depth charging from the enemy escorts. She later returned to the scene of the attack, but before another torpedo could be launched, the cruiser rolled to port and sank. Following the air strikes and further patrol in the area, the submarine returned to Pearl Harbor on March 17. Ramirez de Arellano was awarded a second Silver Star Medal for his contributions in the sinking the Japanese light cruiser Agano and a Legion of Merit Medal.
Legion of Merit Commander Marion F. Ramirez-DeArellano, United States Navy, was awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Assistant Approach Officer aboard U.S.S. SKATE (SS-305) during the THIRD War Patrol of that Submarine in enemy-controlled waters from February 5, 1944 to March 17, 1944. General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 348 (March 1946) & No. 363 (May 1947) Action Date: February 5 - March 17, 1944 Service: Navy Rank: Commander Company: Executive Officer Division: U.S.S. Skate (SS-305)
In April 1944, Ramirez de Arellano was named Commanding Officer of the USS Balao, thus becoming the first Hispanic submarine commanding officer. He participated in his ship's war patrols 5, 6 and 7. On July 5, 1944, Ramirez de Arellano led the rescue of three downed Navy pilots in the Palau area.
Balao completed refit and training on April 24th and the next day began her voyage back to action. After stopping for a few hours at Midway to refuel, submarines usually stopped there and topped off their fuel tanks. She continued to her patrol area around the Palau Islands. She contacted a small convoy on May 14 but was unable to close the targets for an attack because of the diligence of the Japanese escorts. The submarine returned to patrolling the Yap–Palau shipping lanes. Her next contacts were unfavorable for attack, and problems with her surface search radar hampered her efforts to seek out enemy shipping.
On June 1 the situation brightened. Balao made radar contact with a four-ship convoy and tracked it to an excellent position for attack. Just after midnight on June 2, she fired all six of her bow torpedoes at one of the largest passenger cargo ships, and scored two hits on the estimated 5000 ton target. Although pursued by the escorts, Balao again managed to close the convoy, now with only two ships visible. Only minutes before Balao reached firing position, one of the escorts unwittingly moved to a spot on Balao� 's beam and stayed there, thwarting the submarine's second attempt. She was prevented from carrying out a dawn attack by Japanese air cover and was forced to allow the convoy to escape without further damage. A fuel shortage forced Balao to enter Majuro Atoll on June 12, 1944 to begin refit alongside the submarine tender USS Sperry.
Balao began her sixth war patrol on July 5th when she departed Majuro for the Palau area. The submarine made a few contacts, but none worthy of pursuit. On July 26, Balao joined in the bombardment of Angaur Island in the Palaus by firing on a lighthouse and loading docks, scoring several direct hits. The same day, she witnessed a fighter plane from the carrier Bunker Hill splash into the water dead ahead and quickly managed to rescue the pilot. After transferring him to USS Dortch (DD-670), Balao returned to lifeguard duties off Peleliu Island where she picked up two more downed aviators on 27 July.
On July 29, Balao joined the submarine USS Drum in a coordinated attack on two sampans, engaging them with gunfire until the Japanese abandoned ship and the sampans were destroyed. She then resumed patrol duty and continued the task until August 12, when she rendezvoused with USS Conyngham (DD-371) and headed for Tanapag Harbor, Saipan. Balao was then ordered back to the United States where she entered the Mare Island Navy Yard on 20 August for a complete overhaul. Upon the completion of that work, she returned to Pearl Harbor on November 15, 1944 and Ramirez de Arellano and the Balao prepared to return to the war in the Pacific.
Balao stood out of Pearl Harbor on December 4 and rendezvoused with the USS Spot and USS Icefish en route to Tanapag Harbor. The trio of submarines reached port on December 15 and moored in a nest alongside the tender USS Fulton. After topping off fuel, water, and provisions on December 17, they got underway to patrol the Yellow Sea in a coordinated attack group.
Until January 2, 1945, their only contacts were fishing craft and floating mines. On that evening, however, Balao sighted the masts of a 700 ton schooner. She closed the three masted schooner and surfaced to attack. Her first two torpedoes missed the target, but the third hit squarely amidships and sank the vessel.
That day proved to be lucky for Balao because, later that night, she picked up a larger ship with and estimate of 10,500 tons, on radar and successfully moved into position. Early on January 8, she fired six torpedoes, three of which scored; but the stubborn 'tanker' remained afloat despite being dead in the water. Balao fired seven more torpedoes for three more direct hits, but the target still refused to sink. The submarine closed in on the badly damaged tanker and fired another trio of fish, one of which struck the final blow. However, Japanese records examined after the war indicate that Balao� 's victim on this occasion was not a tanker, but the 5,244-ton freighter Daigo Maru. After that, Balao patrolled independently until January 19th when she pulled into Apra Harbor, Guam, for refit alongside the tender USS Apollo.
Balao captain Ramirez de Arellano was awarded a Bronze Star with Combat V and a Letter of Commendation for his actions in fighting his ship.
Bronze Star Medal: '...for heroic service as Commanding Officer of the USS Balao during the Seventh War Patrol of that vessel in enemy Japanese-controlled waters from 4 December 1944 to 10 January 1945. Penetrating shallow and heavily mined waters, Commander Ramirez de Arellano conducted well-planned torpedo attacks to sink a tanker and a schooner totaling over 10,000 tons despite severe enemy countermeasures. His skills, courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.'
He was detached from command of the Balao in February 1945, and for six months thereafter was assigned to Submarine Division 202, his duty in connection with relief crews. In August 1945 he became Commander Submarine Division 16, with additional duty as a member of the staff of Commander Submarine Squadrons 28 and 8. Three months later he was transferred to command the USS Piper, and in April 1946 was detached with orders to duty in command of the Submarine Base at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
In November 1947 he reported to Headquarters, Tenth Naval District, where for two years he served as Assistant to the War Plans Officer on the staff of the Commandant and on the staff of Commander Caribbean Sea Frontier. On August 10, 1949 he returned to the Naval Academy, where for the next three years he was assigned to the Department of Language.
On 30 September 1952 he assumed command of the USS Lindenwald (LSD-6), a unit of the Atlantic Fleet, and under orders of May 17, 1954 he was detached to Pascagoula, Mississippi as Prospective Commanding Officer of the USS Thomaston (LSD-28). He assumed command at her commissioning on September 17, 1954.
He was War Plans Officer, Joint U.S. Military Group in Madrid, Spain from May 1955 to June 1957 and the Deputy Director of the Inter-American Defense Board in Washington, D.C. from July 1957 to July 1961. On July 1, 1961, Captain Ramirez de Arellano retired from the Navy at the rank of Captain.
In addition to the Silver Star Medal and Gold Star in lieu of second silver award, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with Combat 'V' the Commendation Ribbon with Combat 'V' and the Ribbon for the Navy Unit Commendation, Commander Ramirez de Arellana had the Army Distinguished Unit Emblem; the American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one silver star and two bronze (seven engagements); the American Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the National Defense Medal; and the Philippine Defense Ribbon.
Ramirez de Arellano was married to Isabel Judson Mysie with whom he had three sons. He died on May 15, 1980 at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C.. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery Plot: Section 64 Site 1541.
US Navy Photo
Biography compiled from 'Wikipedia' and 'Naval History and Heritage Command' and various newspapers and online sources.
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