Ralph C. Franklin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 13 July 1920. Life was wonderful during his youth. Raised in a middle class family, he had two brothers and lots of family and friends. His father had employment during the Great Depression. Franklin's mother was a homemaker. Franklin graduated from high school in 1938. He enjoyed high school as he broke out of his homebody mode. He played sports and was quite popular. He was not aware of the looming involvement of the United States in the war until he was enrolled in the University of Cincinnati. Hitler [Annotator's Note: German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler] and the events in Europe made it obvious that something was coming. When the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Franklin knew he would become involved in the war. He received the word of the attack while on campus with a young lady friend. Everyone in the auditorium was stone silent as the couple entered the building. He discovered the news over the radio. He was 21 years old and knew immediately that he would be in the military. All the students were concerned with their future. Franklin chose the Marine Corps because of his girlfriend's positive comments about an officer in his dress blue uniform.

Ralph C. Franklin did not pass his first physical for the Marine Corps because he was underweight. He ate bananas and sweet cream for a week and passed the follow-up examination the next week. He enlisted as an officer candidate and reported to Quantico [Annotator's Note: Quantico, Virginia]. He graduated from college in June [Annotator's Note: June 1942] and entered service in July. He traveled to training with four other men. One, Bernie Freeze [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling] ended up going to West Point [Annotator's Note: United States Military Academy in West Point, New York] despite his preference for the Marines. The new recruits were treated harshly by their new sergeant. It was a dehumanizing experience for the trainees. They had ten weeks of training. Franklin was grateful for the fabulous experience. The toughest part was the early morning exercises in the cold weather with little uniform covering them. Franklin was physically capable of handling the demanding work requirements. He was at Quantico when the Marines landed on Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] in August 1942. Seeing pictures and hearing stories of the battle made a big impression on the trainees. The Navy battles at Guadalcanal resulted in the Marines being left on the beach without adequate supplies. That story affected Franklin. Franklin graduated just before Christmas. General Holland Smith [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps General Holland McTyeire "Howlin' Mad" Smith] was due to commission them but he was busy in the Pacific so an alternate general performed the ceremony. After home leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in Cincinnati [Annotator's Note: Cincinnati, Ohio], Franklin was ordered to Camp Elliot [Annotator's Note: in San Diego, California] in California. From there, he volunteered for tank duty. He was assigned to 3rd Scout Company in the 3rd Tank Battalion as a platoon leader. The company was given reconnaissance duty scouting ahead of the main force to determine where the enemy was situated and do some mapping. Franklin had 32 men in his platoon out of the 130 to 140 men in the company. Training was severe. The commanding officer, Captain Kelly Hooker [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling] was killed in the difficult training. Later, Franklin was transferred to headquarters as new second lieutenants entered the company to take his and other officer's places.

Ralph C. Franklin went to Guadalcanal [Annotator's Note: Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] before the division [Annotator's Note: 3rd Marine Division] arrived. The 1st Marine Division had previously departed so Franklin worked with their Army replacements. He learned pigeon English to work with the natives. He was in New Zealand and New Caledonia also. After the whole division arrived on Guadalcanal, he had his baptism of fire on Bougainville [Annotator's Note: Bougainville, Solomon Islands]. The early morning amphibious landing on the west coast was preceded by American naval shore bombardment. It was a maddening sound. The men went over the side and landed in shallow water with no opposition. The reconnaissance ahead of the landings did not anticipate the swamp where they landed. Going down the beach, they met Japanese resistance which they took out. The prior training was good but the excitement was beyond belief. Most of the men that he led into combat were still teenagers. It was exhilarating. It was a feeling of great responsibility. The Japanese were terrible soldiers with little discipline. They made too much noise and were eliminated quickly. The Marines dug foxholes anticipating a Japanese counterattack that never happened. The troops then moved into the jungle on the Piva Trail with deep mud and discomfort. Franklin's men were on point but had little contact with the enemy. After a month on Bougainville, the company returned to Guadalcanal to rest and refit to prepare for Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands]. Prior to leaving Bougainville, many men including Franklin had sickness. They were pulled back to serve as guards for Major General Geiger [Annotator's Note: then US Marine Corps Major General, later General, Roy Stanley Geiger]. The Red Cross provided turkey to the men at Thanksgiving [Annotator's Note: November 1943]. Franklin has always remembered the Red Cross because of that. Franklin grew close to his men over their time together. He left them on Guam to go to division headquarters. Despite officer censorship, Franklin wrote home frequently. He never mentioned his location or his unit. He received a "Dear John" letter [Annotator's Note: a Dear John letter is a letter from a female to a male serviceman serving overseas breaking off a romantic engagement] from the girl that suggested he join the Marine Corps. He had just previously consoled an officer who had received the same type letter and then Franklin got his. It was a hysterical event for him. For the campaign on Guam, the scout company [Annotator's Note: scout company, 3rd Tank Battalion, 3rd Marine Division] came in latter in a noncombat role. The landing was benign. Soon after his arrival, Franklin was transferred to division headquarters.

Ralph C. Franklin became an adjutant in Division Headquarters [Annotator's Note: Headquarters, 3rd Marine Division]. The location was near where the last Japanese soldier on Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] surrendered many years after the war. Franklin hated to leave his men for the administrative job but new officers were coming in so he was selected to be replaced. Franklin met many higher ranking officers which had its benefits even after the war. He had six or seven men working for him in his new role. Franklin missed combat on Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] because he had emergency surgery. He had to be ordered not to go to Iwo Jima or he would be court-martialed. There was too much risk for him to climb down the net to enter the landing craft. Franklin was pleased with the surgery that was performed on him but thought he would die from the pain. Franklin's brother was in the 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division and was severely wounded near the heart. He visited him on Saipan [Annotator's Note: Saipan, Mariana Islands] in a church converted to a very rudimentary hospital. Franklin had experience with death. A close friend was killed near him. The 3rd Division was sent to Iwo Jima as operational reserve but were immediately committed on the first day of battle. They returned to Guam after being pulled out. Franklin returned to the United States with 250 Marines bound for Mare Island [Annotator's Note: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California]. They arrived in San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] on V-E Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge was a pretty good experience. There was little celebration there because the main focus on the West Coast was the war with the Japanese. Franklin arrived in Cincinnati [Annotator's Note: Cincinnati, Ohio] on liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] at the end of May. The reunion with his parents was good but the war in the Pacific was still ongoing. He found that, being a Marine, he was ready to get back to duty. Franklin went to Washington [Annotator's Note: Washington, D.C.] to see his commanding general who offered him a duty station near Cincinnati. Franklin was happy to go to Crane Naval Ammunition Depot in Indiana. He was in command of the Marine guard contingent there. That was where he was when the war with Japan ended.

Ralph C. Franklin attended Columbia University [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York] graduate school. He thought about returning to the Marines but got married and joined the active reserves instead. He was not called up for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: 1950 to 1953]. He was in the Philippines at the time. Other reserve officers with him were not called up because only those abroad as civilians who had special language or other skills were needed for reactivation. It was great news when the war in the Pacific ended. It was expensive in lives and treasure. Everyone was happy that the conflict was over. His whole Marine Corps experience was a tremendous learning experience for him, particularly after his service. Boot camp was a great way for him to learn how tough he was even compared with some of the larger, seemingly more athletic trainees. Franklin thinks it is important for all young people to learn about the history of the United States, not just World War 2. The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is important to maintain. Franklin learned a lot there about the war in Europe that he was not exposed to beforehand. World War 2 gave him responsibility and made him grow up. He had to lead 32 men into combat. That will mature a person quickly. Military experience was valuable to Franklin. He never thought he would serve before the war but now feels every young man and possibly young women should have national service whether it is military or not. It would inject responsibility into their personality. He ends the interview with "Semper Fi!" [Annotator's Note: Semper Fidelis is the motto of the United States Marine Crops and means Always Faithful; Franklin also ends the interview with a large smile.]