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Contact Info
Home Town Boulder, CO
Last Address Annapolis, MD
Date of Passing Dec 21, 1990
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
Upon his retirement from the Navy, Vice Admiral Ralph Ensign Wilson became a member and chairman of the Federal Maritime Board, 1960-1964, and the Maritime Administrator with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
Awarded for actions during the World War II
General Orders: Commander South Pacific Force and Area: Serial 76 (January 22, 1943)
Action Date: October 11 - 12, 1942
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Company: Commanding Officer
Division: U.S.S. Buchanan (DD-484)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander Ralph Ensign Wilson (NSN: 0-58506), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the Destroyer U.S.S. BUCHANAN (DD-484), which was badly damaged during the engagement with Japanese naval forces off Savo Island during the Battle of Cape Esperance, on the night of 11 - 12 October 1942. During the height of the engagement, Commander Wilson conducted the rear destroyer group in a most commendable manner. His expert and courageous handling of his ship placed the destroyer in a most advantageous position and enabled torpedoes to be fired with great accuracy, resulting in the sinking of an enemy cruiser. His heroic conduct throughout the action was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Navy of the United States.
Obituary, the Washington Post: VAdm Wilson.
Date
Dec 21, 1990
Last Updated: Apr 11, 2016
Comments
Ralph Ensign Wilson, 88, a retired Navy vice admiral who served as chairman of the old Federal Maritime Board in 1960 and 1961, died of pneumonia Dec. 21 at Anne Arundel Hospital Center in Annapolis. He lived in Annapolis.
Adm. Wilson, a Navy officer from 1924 until retiring in 1960, was a highly decorated combat veteran of World War II. He commanded the destroyer Buchanan against Japanese forces in the battle of Cape Esperance off Savo Island and won the Navy Cross, the Navy's highest award for valor except for the Medal of Honor. His ship won a Presidential Unit Citation.
The award for his Navy Cross cited his "extraordinary heroism during an engagement with enemy Japanese forces off Savo Island on the night of Oct. 11, 1942." His command of the rear destroyer group led to the sinking of an enemy cruiser.
Also during the war, Adm. Wilson served as Navy liaison to Army Gen. Alexander M. Patch on Guadalcanal. He ended the war as operations chief of Fleet Adm. William Halsey's Third Fleet and witnessed the ceremonies in Tokyo Bay aboard the battleship Missouri that marked the surrender of the Japanese empire.
After the war, he commanded a cruiser, then from 1950 to 1953, served with the old Military Sea Transportation Service, becoming its chief of staff and deputy commander. He then commanded cruiser divisions in the Pacific and Far East before returning to the Pentagon in 1955. From 1957 until retiring from active duty, he was deputy chief of Naval Operations for logistics.
In addition to the Navy Cross, his decorations included four awards of the Legion of Merit, and two Bronze Star medals.
After resigning from the Maritime Board, he joined J.J. Henry & Co., a New York-based naval architectural firm. He retired in 1969. He then lived at Leisure World in Silver Spring until moving to Annapolis in 1988.
Adm. Wilson was born in Boulder, Colo., and was a 1924 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He received a master's degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University and was a graduate of the National War College.
Before World War II, he served aboard the battleship California, as well as cruisers, destroyers and submarines. From July to September 1940, he was an assistant naval attache at the U.S. Embassy in London.
Adm. Wilson was a member of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Annapolis.
Survivors include his wife of 65 years, the former Martha Elizabeth Powell of Annapolis; a son, retired Navy Capt. Ralph Wilson Jr. of Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.; two daughters, Nancy Lee Rule of Ouray, Colo., and Marcia Elizabeth Tyeryar of Bridgewater, Va.; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
