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thedrifter
08-18-09, 07:06 AM
Marine veteran receives awards

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

By PAUL COLLINS - Bulletin Staff Writer

Ralph E. Keys of Martinsville was presented a display Monday that included medals, ribbons, badges and rank insignias that Keys, a retired master sergeant E-8, earned during his more than 20 years with the Marines.

Among the medals were several that Keys, 87, had not received before, though they were in his record, said local Marine Corps recruiter Staff Sgt. T.J. Treloar.

Treloar took part in the presentation at Liberty Fair Mall in Martinsville.

The shadow box included, among other things: nine medals, 12 ribbons, a rifle sharpshooter badge, and Keys’ original dog tag (No. 288,510, which, at the time, meant that he was the 288,510th Marine since the Marine Corps was established on Nov., 10, 1775, Treloar said). The display also included lapel pins, rank insignia, unit coins and symbols (such as the Eagle, Globe and Anchor) and paraphernalia of the Marine Corps.

The medals and ribbons recognize Keys’ service in China before U.S. involvement in World War II, in the bloody Guadalcanal campaign of World War II and during an active tour of duty associated with the Inchon campaign of the Korean War, when he was in the Marine Corps Reserves.

The new medals presented to Keys were: National Defense, American Defense, World War II and Marine Corps Reserve medals and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with Two Battle Stars. Other medals he previously had received include the China Marine Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

The two new ribbons were Combat Action and Presidential Unit Citation ribbons, Treloar said. Previously, Keys had received about 10 other ribbons.

Robert and Dianne Webb of Stuart, friends of Keys, attended the presentation ceremony, which was held at the Marine recruiting office at the mall. Dianne Webb designed the display for Keys’ 13-year-old granddaughter, Amanda Thompson of Blacksburg, who knows little about Webb’s military career. Amanda’s mother, Deborah Keys Thompson of Blacksburg, doesn’t know parts of her father’s military career either, according to the Webbs, who added that Keys is modest and that many veterans of World War II don’t talk much about their memories.

Keys explained his position simply: “They don’t need to know all the gory details.”

And he could tell plenty.

Keys joined the Marine Corps a week after graduating from Ironton High School in Ohio. “The history of the Marines fascinated me,” he said.

During World War II, Keys served at Guadalcanal, the first major U.S. campaign after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. During the six-month campaign, the United States regained control of Guadalcanal from the Japanese and prevented them from using it as supply bases or for resupply. According to online sources, the Guadalcanal campaign was the Allied offenses’ first major offensive against the Empire of Japan. Americans suffered 30,000 casualties, including10,000 fatalities, and 70,000 Japanese were killed, wounded or captured.

Keys recalled Japanese warships firing 18-inch guns at the Americans ashore off and on for hours on end, a Japanese soldier once cutting off part of an American serviceman’s nose with a saber and a 20-mile march by Marines to attempt to stop Japanese who were trying to land reinforcements. He also recalled a tree that had been partially felled in battle later falling on two U.S. Marines, and taking baths in rivers in which there were dead Japanese floating.

Keys developed jungle rot, a skin disorder induced in a tropical climate, in Guadalcanal because he didn’t have the proper equipment, such as proper boots, in those days to keep his feet dry, and getting baths was often rare. Even today, every few months, Keys said, he has to have yellow spots removed as a result of the jungle rot.

Also in Guadalcanal, Keys developed malaria, an infectious disease spread by certain mosquitoes, most commonly in tropical climates. It is characterized by recurrent chills, fever and an enlarged spleen.

Keys said he was treated in several hospitals in the Pacific and the United States, including being given ice in his mouth and on his body to get his temperature down. He recovered from the malaria after about 10 years.

Keys also served in Guam after the United States had gained control of the island, but there were still occasional Japanese attacks.

He served on active duty in the Marine Corps from 1940 until the mid-1940s after World War II ended, then worked for Appalachian Power for a year before going to Virginia Tech for five years, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial engineering. He worked for DuPont from about 1950 until he retired in 1986, first in Delaware, then in South Carolina and later in Martinsville.

He was in the Marine Reserves from 1951 until 1968, serving a one-year active tour of duty during the Korean War, but the rest of the time he served on weekends and two weeks during the summer. During the Korean War, Keys was on board a ship associated with the Inchon invasion.

Keys retired from the Marine Reserves in 1968.

After retiring from DuPont in 1986, he worked for several companies as a security officer, including five years with Tultex, and he had a sales job with Lowes Home Improvement for a year.

“I feel honored I was able to serve in the Marines,” Keys said.

Robert Webb, also a former Marine, said, “He’s the greatest guy I know, an inspiration to me.”

Dianne Webb also praised Keys’ service and dedication, noting that despite his own health problems, he looks after his wife, Lucille, 87.

Treloar said Webb is the epitome of a Marine.

Ellie