USS Ralph Johnson Ship Crest Info Sheet PDF

The light blue represents the Medal of Honor, the dark blue represents the ocean, and the five stars are in the formation of the constellation "Southern Cross" which comes from the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion crest, signifying PFC Johnson's service in the United States Marine Corps. The trident is...

The light blue represents the Medal of Honor, the dark blue represents the ocean, and the five stars are in the formation of the constellation "Southern Cross" which comes from the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion crest, signifying PFC Johnson's service in the United States Marine Corps. The trident is a traditional naval symbol and the flame emission symbolizes the Integrated Air and Missile Defense system aboard our ship. The Vietnamese dragon is associated with water and is considered to have authority over life and death. Dragons are responsible for rain, without which life could not continue. The single star above the dragon signifies the life Ralph Johnson saved that earned him the Medal of Honor. Representing both officer and enlisted, on left side of the crest is the USN Officer's sword and a USN CPO cutlass; on the right side a USMC Officer's Mameluke and a USMC NCO sword. Our ship’s motto stays true to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion warrior mentality, "CELER SILENS MORTALIS" ("Swift Silent Deadly"). Ralph Henry Johnson was born on January 11, 1949, in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended Courtnay Elementary School and Simonton Jr. High School in Charleston, South Carolina. Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve at Oakland, California on March 23, 1967, and was discharged to enlist in the regular Marine Corps on July 2, 1967. Upon completion of recruit training with the 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, MCRD San Diego, California, in September 1967, he was transferred to the Camp Pendleton, California. He underwent individual combat training with Company Y, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, and basic infantry training with the Basic Infantry Training Company, 2nd Infantry Training Regiment, completing the latter in November 1967. He was promoted to Private First Class on November 1, 1967. In January 1968, he arrived in the Republic of Vietnam, and served as a reconnaissance scout with Company A, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division. On March 5, 1968, while on Operation Rock, a four-day operation by the 3rd Battalion 7th Marines in the "Arizona Territory" northwest of An Hoa Combat Base, his 15-man reconnaissance patrol was attacked by a platoon-sized enemy force on Hill 146 in the Quan Duc Duc Valley. When a hand grenade landed in the fighting hole he shared with fellow Marines, he yelled a warning and immediately hurled his body over the explosive charge. Absorbing the full impact of the blast, he was killed instantly. His heroic actions on that day were recognized with a posthumous award of the United States' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. Ralph H. Johnson is buried at Beaufort National Cemetery in South Carolina. A complete list of his medals and decorations includes: The Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm, the Vietnamese Military Merit Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.