Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1927 Lucky Bag:

Ralph Hickox

Corporal

Rifle: Class (4, 3, 2, 1) Class Numerals (4, 3); Soccer: Class (4) Class Numerals (4); Bowling: Class (2); Musical Clubs; Business Manager (1); Masqueraders Business Manager: (1); Star: (4); Expert Rifleman: (2); Masked N.

BEING of a more or less adventurous nature, Ralph had led a rather varied life prior to his entrance to the Academy, having attended George Washington University one year and the following two as a Corporal in the Marines. As a result of his varied experiences and his intimate contact with the schooling of hard knocks, he seemed a trifle more serious than the majority of his classmates. Academically he was exceptional, a student of high class standing. Plebe year he finished with a starring multiple and the other years were near reoccurrences of the same stunt, but in his upperclassman days his marks suffered, due to his interest in outside activities.

Probably his most outstanding characteristic is his executive ability. Here his businesslike qualities and managerial ability show forth, even from the times he was in charge of room to his position as manager of the Masqueraders and the Combined Musical Clubs. Aside from this he was a member of the Plebe Rifle Squad, a fondness for which he must have acquired during his service with the Gyrenes.

Ralph is fond of scuffling with his roommates during his spare moments, but this ferocious element of his nature usually abates toward the end of the week when some charming drag takes charge and keeps him busily occupied, leaving him, upon her departure, in one grand hop.

Loss

Ralph was lost when USS Truxtun (DD 229) grounded in Newfoundland on February 18, 1942. He was the ship’s commanding officer since October 3, 1941.

Other Information

From Navsource:

Ralph Hickox was born 29 August 1903 in Washington D.C. Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps 23 September 1921, he was appointed to Annapolis 18 July 1923 and commissioned ensign 2 June 1927. In the peacetime Navy Hickox served in a variety of ships and stations and was finally appointed commanding officer of the destroyer USS Truxtun (DD-229) on 3 October 1941. He had been commissioned lieutenant commander 1 July of that year. When his ship went aground in heavy seas off St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, 18 February 1942, Lt. Comdr. Hickox remained on the bridge directing rescue operations in a cool and fearless manner which inspired the officers and men under him and was instrumental in effecting the rescue of many of the members of his crew. Tragically Lt. Commander Hickox was swept from the bridge by the pounding seas and lost. 119 members of her crew lost their lives in the heavy seas and with the assistance of the local residents 33 survivors were rescued.

The book “Standing Into Danger” by Cassie Brown detail’s Truxtun’s loss, as well as the loss of USS Pollux (AKS 2) and USS Wilkes (DD 441). The website “Dead Reckoning: The Pollux-Truxtun Disaster” is also devoted to the topic.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Ralph married Dorcas L. Barber on December 29, 1928, in Washington, D. C.

Their daughter Dorcas Ann heard the radio news of his loss on her 8th birthday.

Ralph’s sister was Alma, and his brothers were Malcolm and William. In 1910, the family lived in Gulfport, Mississippi, where his father Birdette P. was a lawyer. His father later became an auditor for the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D. C. Ralph’s mother Lida had relatives in Pike County, Mississippi.

His wife was listed as next of kin. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Namesake

USS Hickox (DD 673) was named for Ralph; the ship was sponsored by his widow.

Photographs

"Kearny, New Jersey, July 4 1943, holding bottles in their hands that they smashed against the prows of the vessels named for their husbands, both former Lieutenant Commanders, Mrs. Ralph Hickox (Left) of Washington D.C., Mrs. [Howard R. Healy](/honorees/lcdr-howard-r-healy-usn/) of Long Beach, California, participated in the launching ceremonies for the destroyers USS Hickox (DD-673) and USS Healy (DD-672) respectively on July 4 1943, at the Kearny Shipyards of U.S. Steel's Federal Shipbuilding Company. Their husbands, both Naval Heroes, died in action in the present war. Photo courtesy of the Acme Newspictures." Source

Related Articles

Elmer D. Anderson ‘35, James W. Danforth ‘38, and Arthur L. Newman ‘34 were also lost when Truxton was grounded.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

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.