MAY 6, 2022
Ocean City Today
WORLD WAR II
OBITUARIES
Continued from Page 66 deck and detonated inside the ship, causing fires to spread rapidly. Damage control parties on the carrier worked bravely to save their ship. This was exemplified by the heroic action of Lt. Milton Ernest Ricketts, of Baltimore, Maryland, a 1935 graduate of the Naval Academy. He was mortally wounded when the fires caused by the exploding bomb spread. Despite his weakened condition, Lt. Ricketts promptly opened the valve of a nearby fireplug, partially let out the fire hose and directed a heavy stream of water into the fire before dropping dead beside the hose. His courageous action, which undoubtedly prevented the rapid spread of fire, saved the ship. His unflinching devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Navy. He gallantly gave his life for his country, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The Royal Australian Navy’s overall contribution to the Battle of the Coral Sea may not have been as spectacular as that of the American carriers, but the work done by the coast watchers, intelligence staff, the cruisers and other support ships and personnel all contributed to the final result, not just at the Coral Sea, but throughout the Pacific War. With the loss of the Japanese carrier Sh h , the damage to the Zuikaku, and the depleted aircraft complement on the Shokaku, Adm. Inoue lost his air cover. As a result, he ordered the Port Moresby invasion force to retire. The Yorktown limped back to Pearl Harbor with Adm. Fletcher on board. Upon arrival, Adm. Nimitz asked how long repairs would take, he was told two weeks. Knowing of the pending Battle of Midway, he ordered the ship made ready in 72 hours! Without the heroism of Baltimore’s Lt. Ricketts, that would not have been possible. So, ended the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first carrier-to-carrier engagement in the Pacific War. It also marked the first time since the start of the war that a major Japanese advance had been checked. The U.S. Navy lost the carrier Lexington, the oiler Neosho, the destroyer Sims, 69 aircraft, and 656 men killed. The Lexington, fully loaded, weighed 48,000 tons. It was, by far, the greatest ship loss suffered by the U.S. Navy in World War II. The Japanese lost the light carrier Sh h , one destroyer, three minesweepers, 97 aircraft, and 966 men were killed. Tactically, the Japanese won the battle based on the tonnage of ships sunk. Strategically, however, the U.S. won because the Japanese Port Moresby invasion force had to retire, and a major Japanese landing was thwarted. Next week: The Second Battle of Kharkov (Kharkiv)
RICHARD ALBERT PASSWATER Winterville/Sarasota/Ocean Pines Richard Albert Passwater of Winterville, North Carolina, Sarasota, Florida, and Ocean Pines, Maryland, passed into his eternal rest on April 28, 2022, at the age of 84. He is preceded in death by his parents, Stanley Sr. and Mabel King Passwater; and his brother, Stanley R. Passwater Passwater Jr. He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Barbara; their two children, Richard Alan (Myriam) and Michael (Ellen); two grandchildren, Matt (Chelsea) and Thomas; and two great-grandchildren, Audrey and Jamison; as well as a nephew, Steve Passwater, and many loving cousins. He enjoyed time with family and
friends, photography, genealogy, and Baltimore Orioles and Delmarva Shorebirds games. During his extensive career, he served as a civilian scientist with the Air Force’s Project Papa Bear to ensure the purity of liquid nitrogen for the Centaur rocket; he was director, Research Analytics Laboratories at Allied Chemical Corporation; director, Applications Research Laboratory at Baxter-Travenol Laboratories; vice president of research for the American Gerontological Research Laboratories Division of Life Science Labs; and vice president of research and development for Solgar Vitamin & Herb Company. He wrote more than 45 books and 600 articles, participated in over 7,000 radio shows, and served as WholeFoods Magazine’s science editor for 36 years. He was twice honored by the Com-
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mittee for World Health (1978 and 1980), received the nutrition industry’s Achievement Award (1989), National Nutrition Foods Association’s Presidents Award (1999), James Lind Scientific Achievement Award (2004), John Peter Zenger Free Press Award for writing (2004), and was inducted into the International Society of Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame (2021). He also was voted Citizen of the Year by his community (Ocean Pines, Maryland, 1987), and was inducted into the Delmarva Firefighter’s Hall of Fame (1993) after serving 25 years as a volunteer EMT and firefighter, including 10 years as Chief of the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department (OPVFD). He was a founding advisor of Atlantic General Hospital, a member of the American Chemical Society since Continued on Page 68
