By Oliver Beckwith, MHM Board Member
USS Rall (DE-304)
At Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, three Monrovians paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. Seaman First Class Dwight J. Orr (MHS class of 1940) was stationed on the Battleship USS Arizona, and became one of 1177 sailors and Marines killed on the ship. Nearby at Hickam Field Sergeant Gerald Anglich, an Army Air Corps gunner from Monrovia, was shot down by a Mitsubishi Zero as he ran to a machine gun emplacement, one of 139 soldiers killed there. The third Monrovian who perished at Pearl Harbor on that infamous day was Navy First Lieutenant Richard Rall, one of 18 men who perished on board the Battleship USS Pennsylvania.
Lt. Richard Rall
Lieutenant Richard Rall (1909-1941) was a Navy Assistant Surgeon aboard the USS Pennsylvania in 1941. His mother and sister lived on Heliotrope Avenue in Monrovia. Lt. Rall came up with the innovation to add a number of first aid stations on ships, along with regular first aid training for sailors. This caught the attention of the Navy brass at the time, and the safety improvement was added on all Navy ships.
For the December 7th attack the USS Pennsylvania was in dry dock, and this provided a degree of protection for the ship. However some damage was done, and Lt. Rall was treating wounded sailors in one of his first aid stations when a second bomb hit the ship. Lieutenant Rall perished along with 17 other sailors on the USS Pennsylvania that day. Christmas 1941 was a solemn day for his family, and a gold star, indicating that a family member in the service had been killed, hung in the window on Heliotrope Avenue.
In 1943 the Navy decided to name a ship after Lieutenant Rall. A war bond drive in Monrovia raised more than $125,000 to help pay for the ship. The USS Rall (DE-304) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort, and it was launched on September 23 of that year. By April of 1944 it was commissioned, and by September 1944 the USS Rall was active in escorting troops and tankers in the Pacific. In November the destroyer sank a midget submarine, and by 1945 the destroyer was part of the Okinawa invasion.
On April 12th, 1945, off the shores of Okinawa, the USS Rall came under attack by five Kamikaze planes. Four of the planes were stopped but the fifth crashed into the ship, exploding as it flew into the ship. 21 sailors were killed and 38 were wounded. The wounded were treated in the first aid stations originally designed by Lieutenant Rall and some lives were saved as a result. The USS Rall recovered from the damage but was decommissioned late in 1945.
There are many more stories about Monrovians who fought in World War II and you can find them in Richard Singer's book, People Like You and Me: A History of Monrovia in World War II. It is available for purchase at the Monrovia Historical Museum.
For the December 7th attack the USS Pennsylvania was in dry dock, and this provided a degree of protection for the ship. However some damage was done, and Lt. Rall was treating wounded sailors in one of his first aid stations when a second bomb hit the ship. Lieutenant Rall perished along with 17 other sailors on the USS Pennsylvania that day. Christmas 1941 was a solemn day for his family, and a gold star, indicating that a family member in the service had been killed, hung in the window on Heliotrope Avenue.
In 1943 the Navy decided to name a ship after Lieutenant Rall. A war bond drive in Monrovia raised more than $125,000 to help pay for the ship. The USS Rall (DE-304) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort, and it was launched on September 23 of that year. By April of 1944 it was commissioned, and by September 1944 the USS Rall was active in escorting troops and tankers in the Pacific. In November the destroyer sank a midget submarine, and by 1945 the destroyer was part of the Okinawa invasion.
On April 12th, 1945, off the shores of Okinawa, the USS Rall came under attack by five Kamikaze planes. Four of the planes were stopped but the fifth crashed into the ship, exploding as it flew into the ship. 21 sailors were killed and 38 were wounded. The wounded were treated in the first aid stations originally designed by Lieutenant Rall and some lives were saved as a result. The USS Rall recovered from the damage but was decommissioned late in 1945.
There are many more stories about Monrovians who fought in World War II and you can find them in Richard Singer's book, People Like You and Me: A History of Monrovia in World War II. It is available for purchase at the Monrovia Historical Museum.
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