Community Corner
Moran Presents Military Honors to Mount Vernon Veteran
Ralph Squires received his Combat Action Ribbon for the first time on Tuesday.
Congressman Jim Moran presented World War II veteran Ralph Squires with three replacement military honors and a combat ribbon for his involvement with the U.S. Navy at the Mount Vernon House on Tuesday.
Squires received the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Stars, and the Combat Action Ribbon.
“It was through the courage, perseverance and dedication of service members like Mr. Squires that the United States remains the world’s leading moral, economic, and military power,” Moran said in a statement.
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At age 17, Squires left high school and enlisted in the Navy in 1943, according to Moran’s office. Most notably he participated in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager during WWII.
He assisted in repairing bomb-damaged runways of Saipan, while also constructing pontoon bridges for invading Marines. Squires was born in Bretz, West Virginia on April 15, 1926.
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