(Music "Our Hero)
The Command
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CAPTAIN LOGAN RAMSEY, Sr. USN
Captain Logan C. Ramsey graduated from the U.S.
Naval Academy
in 1918 with the Class of 1919. During the last six months of World War I,
he served aboard the USS TEXAS in the British Grand Fleet. Captain
Ramsey became a naval aviator in 1921. When the attack was leveled
at Pearl Harbor, he was Operations Officer of the Patrol Wings based
in the Hawaiian Area. In May, 1942, hecve-21_files became Operations Officer at the island of Midway. Subsequently, he served as Chief of Staff to
Commander Aircraft, Pacific Fleet. On March 8, 1943, he became the
Commanding Officer of the Block Island CVE-21. He brought aboard
some fifty survivors of an aircraft carrier that was sunk in the Pacific.
He served aboard the Block
Island until March 10, 1944, where he was
ordered to duty as Chief of Staff to the Commander, Fleet Air,
Norfolk. Captain Ramsey was given some 50 survivors from the USS Lexington
(CV-2) which was sunk in the Coral Sea during the
Battle of Midway, with the majority of the 890 sailor compliment having never
previously been at sea with the majority being USNR not Regular Navy. With the first two cruises of the ship scheduled
for aircraft transport his job was to weld this crew into a cohesive
fighting unit which was accomplished in a record time. Having been Operations
Officer of the Navy Forces on the island of Midway, and later Chief of Staff to
the Commander of Aircraft for the entire Pacific Fleet, Captain Ramsey was well
qualified for this task. Logan Ramsey Sr. retired
from the Navy as a Rear Admiral and is now deceased. His son, Ensign Logan Ramsey
Jr., served on CVE 106.
Captain
Logan Ramsey Sr. was not new to making history in WW2. The then Lt. Cmd. Logan
Ramsey Sr. sounded the alarm at the outbreak of the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. He also sent this historic message out on the airways "Air Raid
Pearl Harbor, this is no drill".
Captain
Francis Massie Hughes
Captain Francis Massie Hughes became the Captain of CVE 21 on March 10, 1944 and was in command of the CVE 21 task force when CVE 21 was sunk by German submarines on May 29, 1944. Capt. Hughes played an important part in having the Navy keep the surviving crew members together so that CVE 106 could become an active force in the Battle of the Pacific against the Japanese
Lt.
William F. Harris USN
In building the original crew for CVE 21 Captain Ramsey knew that he would need men who had proven records and combat experience and was authorized to seek out several important position from personnel who were available for service on his new ship. Before making this selection he spent hours going over the service records and had many interviews before he made this selection. He was very impressed with the service records and the previous experience of an enlisted man who had been serving as a Navigator on one of the battle ships well before the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor . One of the selections was then Chief Quarter Master W. F. Harris and several more with other abilities, but the later service record of this individual shows that Captain Ramsey was very just in this selection.
William F Harris was a Chief Quartermaster when he came aboard CVE 21. He was given a field promotion (in the Navy called "mustang") to Lt. Junior Grade while on the CVE 21. Like many of the other crew members that went aboard CVE 106 he remained on board CVE 106 until it was taken to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, in 1946, where he became a Navigation Instructor and eventually retired from the Navy as a full Commander. Prior to coming aboard CVE 21 in September 1942, as one of the original shipmates, Harris served on the Battleship USS Nevada from November 1937 in the Navigation Section. With so many of the original crew of CVE 21 being raw recruits in 1942 Petty Officer Harris became a very important part of that crew. As noted Captain Ramsey also brought aboard CVE 21 fifty survivors of an aircraft carrier that was sunk by the Japanese in July of 1942. The field appointment Harris received while serving on CVE 21 was his reward for the excellent training he provided to this "raw" crew. As noted Harris went on to serve on CVE 106 and later taught Navigation at the Naval Academy. Cmdr. Harris retired from the Navy in 1966 after over 30 years serving his Country in the highest traditions.