Ralph Plaza Expósito, oriundo de Bédar en USA, fallecido en acto de guerra frente a las costas de Almería

Rafael Plaza Ibáñez, nacido en Tabernas, provincia de Almería el 05 de enero 1867, hermano de mi bisabuelo José, se casó  el 25 de abril de 1884 en la Iglesia de Santa María de la Cabeza de Bédar con Anastasia María Expósito, nacida el 14 de agosto de 1864 en Bédar. Tuvieron ocho hijos de los que le sobrevivieron tres niñas. Rafael trabajaba a principios del pasado siglo como minero en una concesión que finalizó la extracción de mineral en la sierra de Bédar en 1907, año en el que la sociedad se desligó definitivamente de la producción por lo que se quedó, al igual que muchos bedarenses, sin trabajo. Esto y la situación de pobreza extrema en el campo andaluz hizo que se lanzase a la aventura y decididamente emigró a los Estados Unidos con su mujer e hijos con la documentación que había obtenido su hermano José que era quien en un principio se iba a marchar con su familia.

Emigraron a Hawái desde Bédar en el SS Heliópolis, buque que zarpó del puerto de Málaga en 1907 hacia las islas del Pacífico buscando mejores condiciones de vida que la que habían dejado atrás; pero allí no todo fue como le habían prometido y como otras muchas familias andaluzas en Hawái emigraron en 1909 al continente americano, concretamente se instalaron en el condado de Placer (California).

Rafael Plaza Expósito, cuarto hijo de la pareja y el primero americano de la familia nació el 27 de junio de 1908 en Honolulu, Hawaii y falleció el 20 de abril de 1944 en el Mar Mediterráneo (II Guerra Mundial).

Rafael o Ralph en inglés fue miembro de la U.S.Army Air y, con el rango de sargento, sirvió a su país en la II Guerra Mundial en la Forces Group 32nd Photographic Squadron, 5th  Reconnaissance.

Un suceso ocurrió el 20 de abril de 1944. Cercano a las costas de Argelia, con destino al este del Mediterráneo, navegaba el barco estadounidense Liberty SS Paul Hamilton, que formaba parte del convoy UGS-38, un gran convoy lento compuesto por 105 barcos y 21 escoltas que habían partido de Hampton Roads, Virginia, el 3 de abril de 1944.

En el buque iban quinientos cuatro aviadores del Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejército entre ellos Ralph G Plaza.

De repente, tres oleadas de aviones de la Luftwaffe alemana atacaron el convoy frente a la costa de Cabo Bengut, Argelia. Un avión Junkers Ju-88 en la primera ola apuntó y lanzó un torpedo aéreo contra el Paul Hamilton y golpeó el barco a las 21:05 hora local. El barco Liberty estalló en una serie de violentas explosiones cuando su cargamento de bombas detonó. Todos a bordo, 580 hombres, incluidos tres miembros originales del 123° Escuadrón de Observación, perecieron en las catastróficas explosiones que, brevemente, convirtieron la noche en día.

Quinientos cuatro aviadores del Cuerpo Aéreo del Ejército, entre ellos Ralph G Plaza murieron en el Paul Hamilton. La mayor parte del 32° Escuadrón de Reconocimiento Fotográfico (otro número de aviadores estaban en otro barco del convoy), 317 hombres fueron aniquilados, así como 154 hombres del 831 ° Escuadrón de Bombarderos. También se perdieron 29 guardias armados navales que manejaban los cañones del barco y 47 marineros mercantes. Fue una de las peores pérdidas de Estados Unidos en el mar durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Solo se recuperó un cuerpo del hundimiento.

Curiosamente el sargento Ralph Plaza falleció a escasos 500 kms. de la tierra de sus padres.

Los desaparecidos del SS Paul Hamilton son recordados en las Tablas de los Desaparecidos del Cementerio y Memorial Americano del Norte de África, un cementerio ubicado en Cartago, Túnez, donde están enterrados 2.841 militares estadounidenses.

Ralph G Plaza, oriundo de Bédar y héroe de la Guerra, fue condecorado con el Corazón Purpura (Purple Heart).

 World War II

Service	39836574
Rank	Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Unit	32nd Photographic Squadron, 5th Reconnaissance Group
Entered Service From	California
Date of Death	April 20, 1944
Status	Missing In Action
Memorialized	Tablets of the Missing North Africa American Cemetery

Purple Heart

Awards: Purple Heart

A Somber Thursday in the Med, 20 April 1944

Thursday, April 20, 1944, was a day of sacrifice for three former members of the 123d Observation Squadron/35th Photo Recon Squadron. The day began as any other for Airmen serving their country in a time of war, but like all too many of them, it ended somberly.

Plying the waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea was the American Liberty ship SS Paul Hamilton, which formed part of convoy UGS-38, a large slow eastward-bound convoy of 105 ships and 21 escorts which had departed Hampton Roads, Virginia on 3 Apr 1944.

The SS Paul Hamilton, named after the third Secretary of the Navy, was one of over 2,700 Liberty Ships built in the U.S. between 1941 and 1945. She was on her fifth voyage as part of convoy UGS-38 on 20 April 1944. (Source: “SS Paul Hamilton” entry on Wikipedia)

Aboard the Paul Hamilton were three of the original members of the Oregon National Guard’s first aviation unit, the 123d Observation Squadron: M/Sgt Bruce C. Green, T/Sgt Albert R. Miller, and S/Sgt Leonard W. Mayer. The men were transferred from the 123d earlier in the war to help form a new air unit, the 32d Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, and were headed for duty in Italy with this unit. At this point in the war, most of the original 100+ members of the 123d Obs Sqn had been transferred to other units as part of the massive buildup of the Army Air Forces. By the time the 35th Photo Recon Squadron shipped out for overseas duty, only about 10% of the original 123d members remained in the squadron.

Meanwhile, as the Paul Hamilton and the rest of UGS-38 sailed eastward, a German reconnaissance aircraft based in southern France spotted it, and the German Luftwaffe prepared to make an air attack against it. Such an attack was not unexpected, as other prior convoys in the region had experienced air attacks from German bombers based in France. But as the Paul Hamilton sailed on the inner side of the convoy, which one might believe she would be safer than being aboard another vessel on the outer edge of the group.

As dusk came over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, German torpedo-bombers made their approach against the convoy. They skillfully made their way across the Mediterranean from France to landfall over North Africa, then turned westward and approached the convoy at low level from land. Allied radar operators on land and at sea had trouble detecting and/or tracking the aircraft, which made it nigh unto impossible to provide effective fighter direction for the aircraft tasked to cover the convoy. Visual lookout on the ships was impaired as dusk turned to dark.

A German Junkers Ju-88A-17 bomber of KG77, the kind which attacked UGS-38 on the night of 20 April 1944. (Source: The Luftwaffe Blog) 

Suddenly, three waves of enemy aircraft hit the convoy off the coast of Cape Bengut, Algeria. A Junkers Ju-88 torpedo-bomber in the first wave aimed and dropped an aerial torpedo at the Paul Hamilton and hit the ship at 2105 hours local time. The Liberty ship erupted in a series of violent explosions as its cargo of explosives detonated. All aboard, 580 men, including three original members of the 123d Observation Squadron, perished in the catastrophic blasts, which briefly turned night into day.

The tragic loss of the Paul Hamilton and all souls aboard happened in a matter of seconds when the explosives and troop-laden vessel was struck by a German aerial torpedo on the evening of 20 April 1944 off the coast of North Africa. (Source: “SS Paul Hamilton” entry on Wikipedia)

Five hundred and four Army Air Corps Airmen were lost on The Paul Hamilton. The bulk of the 32d Photo Recon Squadron (a handful were on another ship in the convoy), 317 men, was wiped out, as well as 154 men of the 831st Bomb Squadron (Heavy). Also lost were 29 Naval Armed Guards manning the ship’s guns and 47 Merchant Mariners. It was one of the worst U.S. losses at sea during WWII. Only one body was recovered from the sinking. Two other ships were sunk by this attack with two more damaged.

The three NCOs, Bruce Green, Albert Miller and Leonard Mayer, were the first combat losses of 123d Observation Squadron members in the war. They and the others of the Paul Hamilton are remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.

Those lost on the SS Paul Hamilton are remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, a 27-acre cemetery located at Carthage, Tunisia, where 2,841 United States military casualties are interred. (Source: WW2 talk forum and Wikipedia)

So on this Easter Sunday, 2014, 70 years after the loss of these three brave Airmen in the Mediterranean theater of operations, let us remember their service and sacrifice for our freedom. They were the first Airmen with a connection to the 123d Observation Squadron/35th Photo Recon Squadron to be killed in action, but sadly, they weren’t to be the last. The upcoming Memorial Day will be a great opportunity for us to remember and honor them all.