Lawson Paterson Ramage "Red"

He drove his submarine into a convoy, firing at close range.

Vice Admiral Lawson Paterson “Red” Ramage earned the Medal of Honor for one of the most audacious submarine attacks of the Second World War. Before dawn on 31 July 1944, commanding USS Parche (SS-384) south of Formosa, he penetrated a Japanese convoy and fought a surface battle lasting 46 minutes. Under intense gunfire, with an enemy transport attempting to ram his submarine, Ramage remained exposed on the bridge and continued directing torpedo attacks.

Born on 19 January 1909 at Monroe Bridge, Massachusetts, Ramage graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1931. A wrestling injury had damaged his right eye, threatening his ambition to enter the submarine service. He persevered, qualified for submarine duty and joined USS S-29 in 1936. By March 1941 he was serving on the Pacific Fleet’s submarine staff at Pearl Harbor, where he witnessed the Japanese attack on 7 December.

Ramage’s combat career began aboard USS Grenadier (SS-210). As navigator during a patrol from April to June 1942, he earned the Silver Star for helping the submarine conduct successful attacks and evade Japanese countermeasures. He took command of USS Trout (SS-202) that June. His aggressive leadership during three subsequent patrols earned his first Navy Cross. In September 1942, Trout torpedoed the Japanese escort carrier Taiyo near Truk.

He next commanded the newly commissioned USS Parche. During its first war patrol, from March to May 1944, Ramage repeatedly penetrated enemy escort screens in the Luzon Strait. His torpedo attacks and successful withdrawal under counterattack earned a second Navy Cross.

Parche’s second patrol brought his defining action. Attacking alongside USS Steelhead before dawn on 31 July, Ramage drove into the convoy and fired from both bow and stern tubes. As enemy fire intensified, he ordered most bridge personnel below while continuing to direct the attack. When a transport tried to ram Parche, he manoeuvred across its bow, clearing the ship by less than 50 feet before launching another torpedo salvo. Parche escaped undamaged.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented Ramage with the Medal of Honor on 10 January 1945. Ramage subsequently prepared a certificate for his crew explaining that he considered the decoration a tribute to Parche and every officer and sailor whose work had made the victory possible.

After the war, Ramage continued through senior submarine, fleet and staff appointments. Promoted to rear admiral in 1956, he later served as Deputy Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet and directed the search following the loss of USS Thresher in 1963. As a vice admiral commanding First Fleet from 1964 to 1966, he strengthened operational readiness during the expanding Vietnam War, earning the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

In March 1967, Ramage became Commander of the Military Sea Transportation Service, overseeing the sealift supporting American forces overseas. His leadership earned a second Distinguished Service Medal. He retired on 1 April 1970 after nearly four decades of naval service.

Lawson “Red” Ramage died on 15 April 1990, aged 81. The guided missile destroyer USS Ramage (DDG-61) carries his name, honouring a submarine commander remembered for extraordinary courage and his conviction that victory belonged to the entire crew.