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Contact Info
Home Town Mounds Illinois
Last Address Ralph Louis Shifley Vice Admiral USN October 26, 1910 - January 5, 1995 Beloved wife: Frances Ellen Norman June 6, 1913 - May 16, 2008 U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery Annapolis
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Ralph Louis Shifley, Commander, U.S. Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Plane in Air Group EIGHT (AG-8), embarked from the U.S.S. BUNKER HILL (CV-17), in action on 20 June 1944, during an attack against the Japanese Fleet in the Marianas Islands during the First Battle of the Philippine Sea. By his airmanship and cool courage in the face of tremendous odds, Commander Shifley contributed materially to the infliction of extensive and costly damage on the Japanese Fleet in this decisive engagement and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Born: October 26, 1910 at Mounds, Illinois
World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater/New Guinea Campaign (1943-44)
From Month/Year
January / 1943
To Month/Year
December / 1944
Description The last obstacle in liberating all of New Guinea island was the Vogelkop Peninsula in Dutch New Guinea. The Japanese resistance on the peninsula gathered at Manokwari, and MacArthur did not wish to contest with this force. Instead, his "hit 'em where they ain't" strategy took the Allied forces to a number of undefended beaches near Cape Opmaria and Sansapor. Like Rabaul, the 25,000 men at Manokwari were now stranded, frustratingly idling uselessly.
In Sep 1944, Allied troops occupied the Halmahera Islands, concluding the New Guinea Campaign. MacArthur was now only several hundred miles from the Philippines. In his memoir, MacArthur attributed to the Allied victory over New Guinea to mobility and the ability to achieve surprise at key confrontations. Additionally, he also insisted that his refusal to deploy military governors over conquered regions helped his command focus on the task at hand. Instead, he brought in Dutch and Australian civil administrators immediately after the area had been deemed secure. "The success of this method was reflected in the complete lack of friction between the various governments concerned", he noted.
Although Allied attention would move toward the Philippine Islands by this time, small pockets of Japanese resistance would continue to fight until late May 1945.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1943
To Month/Year
December / 1944
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories He was designated a naval aviator in 1937. During World War II, he commanded Bombing Group 8 aboard the aircraft carrier Bunker Hill. In that post, and later as air-group commander aboard the Bunker Hill, he took part in operations against Japanese forces in New Guinea, Saipan, Guam, the Palaus and the Philippines. Amon...
