MILTON E. RICKETTS, LT, USN
Milton Ricketts '35
Lucky Bag
From the 1935 Lucky Bag:
MILTON ERNEST RICKETTS
Baltimore, Maryland
"Ricky" "Rick"
MARYLANDER, Rick was aware of the traditions and aims of the Navy on arriving at the Academy. He has never made fame as an academic wizzard, but has carried on his work here with self-assurance of making good. Rick finds his diversion and greatest enthusiasm in lacrosse, a game he plays with a sincere love. In his manner, he is impartial to intimate and acquaintance; always ready to aid, where possible, a classmate or Plebe. He is easy going, even tempered, generous to an extreme, a stupendous storehouse of the latest dope, and a skuttlebutt peddler. Results of social combats are encouraging, but he is unfortunately not particularly conable. Thus he is endowed for life.
Lacrosse 4, 3, 2, 1. Masqueraders 1. G.P.O.
MILTON ERNEST RICKETTS
Baltimore, Maryland
"Ricky" "Rick"
MARYLANDER, Rick was aware of the traditions and aims of the Navy on arriving at the Academy. He has never made fame as an academic wizzard, but has carried on his work here with self-assurance of making good. Rick finds his diversion and greatest enthusiasm in lacrosse, a game he plays with a sincere love. In his manner, he is impartial to intimate and acquaintance; always ready to aid, where possible, a classmate or Plebe. He is easy going, even tempered, generous to an extreme, a stupendous storehouse of the latest dope, and a skuttlebutt peddler. Results of social combats are encouraging, but he is unfortunately not particularly conable. Thus he is endowed for life.
Lacrosse 4, 3, 2, 1. Masqueraders 1. G.P.O.
Loss
Rick was lost when USS Yorktown (CV 5) was damaged by a Japanese dive bomber on May 8, 1942 in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Medal of Honor
From Hall of Valor:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Milton Ernest Ricketts (NSN: 0-75002), United States Navy, for extraordinary and distinguished gallantry above and beyond the call of duty as Officer-in-Charge of the Engineering Repair Party of the U.S.S. YORKTOWN in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Battle of the Coral Sea on 8 May 1942. During the severe bombarding of the YORKTOWN by enemy Japanese forces, an aerial bomb passed through and exploded directly beneath the compartment in which Lieutenant Ricketts' battle station was located, killing, wounding or stunning all of his men and mortally wounding him. Despite his ebbing strength, Lieutenant Ricketts promptly opened the valve of a near-by fireplug, partially led out the fire hose and directed a heavy stream of water into the fire before dropping dead beside the hose. His courageous action, which undoubtedly prevented the rapid spread of fire to serious proportions, and his unflinching devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Action Date: 8-May-42
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant
Division: U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5)
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Milton attended Roland Park Junior High School and City College, and then Cochran-Bryan Preparatory School at Annapolis. He married on January 12, 1937. The City College yearbook of 1944 dedicated the book to Milton and the 51 other graduates who died in WWII. He was also in a list of WWII deaths in the 1946 yearbook.
He was survived by his wife, the former Betty Jane Huffaker, son Gail Merle Ricketts, father Lawrence, mother Anna Ruth, sister Dorothy and brother Lawrence.
His wife was listed as next of kin. He has a memory marker in Maryland.
Photographs
Namesake
USS Ricketts (DE 254) was named for Rick; the ship was sponsored by his widow.
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.
October 1935
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
January 1936
LT James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
ENS William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
April 1936
LT James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT Hallsted Hopping '24 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Ralph Smith '26 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg William Freshour '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 5B)
LTjg Alden Irons '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Alfred Tucker, III '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
July 1936
LTjg Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg James McRoberts '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Donald Lovelace '28 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Leo Crane '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Albert Gray '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Robert Strickler '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Dewitt Shumway '32 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
January 1937
LT Seymour Johnson '27 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3B)
LTjg Donald Lovelace '28 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Finley Hall '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg Lorenz Forbes '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 3B)
LTjg Leo Crane '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Albert Gray '31 (Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B)
LTjg Robert Strickler '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Dewitt Shumway '32 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 1B)
LTjg William Widhelm '32 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
April 1937
LT Robert Winters '27 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 7B)
September 1937
LT Robert Winters '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LT Henry Dozier '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LT Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LT Finley Hall '29 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg Robert Donaldson '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
January 1938
LT Robert Winters '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LT Henry Dozier '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg Gilbert Carpenter '30 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 6)
LTjg Robert Donaldson '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
July 1938
LT James McDonough '24 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
LT Robert Winters '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LT Henry Dozier '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
ENS Ned Wentz '33 (Carrier Division 2)
LTjg Edward Worthington '34 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Robert Donaldson '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg Stuart Stephens '34 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
January 1939
LT Robert Winters '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LT Henry Dozier '27 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LT Lloyd Greenamyer '29 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
LTjg Edward Worthington '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg Robert Donaldson '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg Stuart Stephens '34 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
October 1939
LTjg James Averill '27 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Edward Worthington '34 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 5)
LTjg Thomas Cummins '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 5)
LTjg John Curtis '35 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg John Daub, Jr. '36 (Carrier Division 2)
LTjg Jack Moore '36 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
June 1940
November 1940
LTjg Samuel Adams '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 5)
LTjg John Curtis '35 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Frank Robinson '36 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
LTjg James Southerland, II '36 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
ENS John Black '38 (Carrier Division 2)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (Carrier Division 2)
April 1941
LTjg John Powers '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 5)
LTjg Samuel Adams '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 5)
LTjg John Curtis '35 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
LTjg Jack Moore '36 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 5)
ENS John Black '38 (Carrier Division 2)
ENS Eric Allen, Jr. '38 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 5)
ENS Keene Hammond '38 (Carrier Division 2)
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
