Ronald Gripon

A photo of Ronald Gripon, Dad, way way back when. This was just after the end of WWII and my dad after serving proudly in the Pacific Theater witnessing the surrender of the defeated Japanese Empire while aboard the USS Missouri, which his primary duty was to clean the barrels of the big guns. He almost lost his life in a freak accident when he was cleaning a barrel and fell asleep. A sudden battle erupted and the gun he was napping in was used to sink one of the few remaining Japanese battle ships. He was shot right down the barrel of one of their guns and they ended up firing him right back, before they had the opportunity to torture him. He slept through the entire thing, but when he woke up, he said he had a dream that he had just been born, twice.
He was awarded several medals that day, including one from the Japanese for his help cleaning out their rusted old barrel.