This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shane Laemmel, MR3
to remember
Somerville, Ronald, LT.
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Contact Info
Home Town Chillicothe, Missouri
Last Address Chillicothe, Missouri
Date of Passing Apr 11, 1986
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Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
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World War II/Asiatic-Pacific Theater
From Month/Year
December / 1941
To Month/Year
September / 1945
Description The plan of the Pacific subseries was determined by the geography, strategy, and the military organization of a theater largely oceanic. Two independent, coordinate commands, one in the Southwest Pacific under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the other in the Central, South, and North Pacific (Pacific Ocean Areas) under Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, were created early in the war. Except in the South and Southwest Pacific, each conducted its own operations with its own ground, air, and naval forces in widely separated areas. These operations required at first only a relatively small number of troops whose efforts often yielded strategic gains which cannot be measured by the size of the forces involved. Indeed, the nature of the objectivesùsmall islands, coral atolls, and jungle-bound harbors and airstrips, made the employment of large ground forces impossible and highlighted the importance of air and naval operations. Thus, until 1945, the war in the Pacific progressed by a double series of amphibious operations each of which fitted into a strategic pattern developed in Washington.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1945
To Month/Year
September / 1945
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember http://books.google.com/books?id=d4xhE39FOwwC&pg=PA49&lpg=PA49&dq=LTjg+Ronald+Somerville&source=bl&ots=-DWYrXVgau&sig=qwdFW2DuutUEUArCaC1QQidkx_g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wgMKUaXkJ8aE2QXa7oGABQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=LTjg%20Ronald%20Somerville&f=false
Memories The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Ronald Lee Somerville (NSN: 0-156553), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber in Bombing Squadron SIX (VB-6), attached to the U.S.S. HANCOCK (CV-19), in the attack on major units of the Japanese fleet in Kure Harbor, Japan, consisting of battleships, carriers and heavy cruisers, on 24 July 1945. Lieutenant Somerville skillfully and courageously piloted his aircraft through intense anti-aircraft fire, from many gun emplacements on shore. He scored a direct bomb hit on the cruiser assigned him as a target, contributing materially to the heavy and extensive damage done to this warship. His outstanding courage and determined skill were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
