About
Ralph Ritchmyer Bouck, the son of Grover and Eliza (Pangburn) Bouck, was born on October 12, 1916, in Rotterdam, New York. He was a 1935 graduate of Mont Pleasant High School.
In 1935, Ralph enlisted in the United States Navy and began his training at Norfolk in Virginia. He held the rank of Boatswain’s Mate Second Class. On the POW transport ship Arisan Maru, Ralph was a prisoner of war. On October 24, 1944, Ralph was shot while trying to flee the sinking transport ship. There were 1782 US prisoners of war aboard the ship; 1777 were lost at sea. Ralph is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry