Ralph Weymouth (May 26, 1917 – January 22, 2020)Ralph Weymouth
. Military Times. Accessed 18 September 2017 was a decorated Vice Admiral of the United States Navy and anti-nuclear campaigner. Weymouth was born in Seattle to Ralph Wells Weymouth and his wife Lisbeth Cunningham Sewall. He graduated from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

in 1938, served two years on surface ships, began

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

training, and earned his wings in 1941. During World War II while serving as Commanding Officer of Bombing Squadron 16 (VB-16) on the , he received the Navy Cross for actions against the Japanese Navy in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He was also awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

twice and the Distinguished Flying Cross four times. His service continued through the Korean and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was a major conflict of the Cold War. ...

s. During service in

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, Weymouth became concerned at the effects of

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...

on the inhabitants of Nagasaki and

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

and became an opponent of nuclear weapons, becoming more active in retirement. He married Laure Bouchage, of

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

descent, granddaughter of Anatole Le Braz, in 1940, and they had eight children, including Tina Weymouth, former bassist for Talking Heads and currently with Tom Tom Club, and architect Yann Weymouth. Weymouth died at age 102 in Rockport, Maine, on January 22, 2020.

References

External links

National World War II Museum
– Becoming a Naval Aviator – Ralph Weymouth {{DEFAULTSORT:Weymouth, Ralph 1917 births 2020 deaths United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) American centenarians Men centenarians Military personnel from Seattle United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War American anti–nuclear weapons activists Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)