USS SLC...Officer...Ralph E. Cheney, Lt.

Ralph Cheney passed away in 1997

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July 24th, 2001

Ensign Ralph E. Cheney completed flight training in Pensacola in October 1940 and was immediately assigned to the USS Salt Lake City as one of the six SOC-1 pilots. He served on the SLC continuously until March, 1943.

He took part in numerous scouting and patrol missions during the Pacific campaign for which he was awarded the Air Medal, with a gold star for his actions in August, 1942 when the SLC provided cover for the landings at Guadalcanal. He would have been a Lt. JG at that time. He was promoted to Lt. just 2 months later.

Cheney was a career Naval officer, retiring as a Commander in 1967. He flew high-performance jets, breaking the sound barrier in 1954 and accumulating approximately 5000 flight hours.

Cheney passed away in 1997 and is survived by his wife, Carolyn, two children, five grandchildren, and one great grandson.

Bob Cheney

Excerpts from the 1942 Diary of Lt. Ralph E. Cheney while on board the USS SLC that was part of the Task Force escorting the USS Hornet and the Doolittle Raiders to the mainland of Japan.