Ralph C. Bubb
Ralph C. Bubb, Ship’s Cook Third Class, U.S. Navy.
Ship’s Cook Third Class • U.S. Navy • Serial 02435833
USS Juneau (CL-51)
Entered service from New Jersey • Died November 13, 1942
Missing in action or buried at sea — Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines
Introduction
Ship’s Cook Third Class Ralph C. Bubb was born on June 21, 1918, in Pennsylvania, to Clyde A. and Elizabeth Bubb. His father worked as a bus driver. An only child, Ralph Bubb grew up in Lindenwold on the Blackwood-Clementon Road. He attended the Garden Lake and Lindenwold public schools. (The mention of Clementon in the news article below reflects that his home was serviced by the Clementon NJ post office at the time.)
Ralph Bubb had enlisted in the Navy in 1935. He was discharged in San Francisco CA on December 1, 1941, and arrived home on December 5. Two days later the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The ship Ralph Bubb had served on was sunk. Ralph Bubb wanted to re-enlist immediately, but his parents pleaded with him to stay home for a month or two. On December 29th, he was to report for work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He got as far as the front gate, turned about, and came home.
“I can’t stand feeling like a slacker,” he told his parents upon arriving home. He re-enlisted the next day.
He was killed when the USS Juneau was sunk on November 13, 1942, in action off Guadalcanal. The loss of the Juneau is famous as the action in which the five Sullivan brothers were all killed together. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox wrote to the Bubb family, stating in part: “Eight months have now elapsed since the loss of the USS Juneau, during the battle of Guadalcanal, on Nov. 13, 1942. This lapse of time, in view of the circumstances surrounding the disaster as officially reported by close witnesses, forces me reluctantly to the conclusion that the personnel missing as a result of the loss of the Juneau, were in fact killed by enemy action. Among them was your son, Ralph Charles Bubb, ship’s cook third class, USN. The bravery of those who made possible the victories at Guadalcanal will long be remembered by a grateful people.”
Ralph Bubb is memorialized on the Lindenwold NJ War Memorial, where unfortunately his name has been misspelled as Ralph Budd.
Clementon Sailor Is Reported Lost
Camden Courier-Post —
Official Navy announcement yesterday listed Ralph C. Bubb, 24, of Clementon, a cook, among 107 names in the most recent roster of casualties.
Bubb was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Bubb, of Blackwood Road, Clementon, and was a member of the crew of the cruiser Juneau which was lost in action last November.
Bubb served more than six years in the Navy. He trained at Newport RI, and served on several trips to England and South America. His enlistment expired while at sea before America entered the war and he continued in service.
Photos
Gravestone of the Bubb family, Berlin Cemetery, Berlin NJ. Ralph C. Bubb is memorialized here alongside his parents; he gave his life aboard USS Juneau.