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APRIL , 22, 1843* •• ; •IMcINTOSH COUNTY SOLDIER SWlMisiffiqhE RIVER TO SAVE COMRADE FROM ENEMYThe folic wing news story of Interest to McIntosh county citizens was carried in Sunday’s Oklahoman.fThe mud of World war I was' »i*j\V■. I: J ;;'biiv(catistill, wet and sticky when John and Mary Ridge welcomed a new*, baby jn 1918. That was on a faqrv four miles from Pierce, Okla., arid they named the baby Clyde.There were other brothers and sisters to feed, so John.and Mary hdd .litili time for dreaming. ^^Vjust Worked hard on themade the best of things Rjfdg^s, And the nine young Ridged worked hard as well.Clyde Said “goodbye”: to r fierce high school and put more 'time into farming. He be-cUfde(* h credit to the community.neighbors said so. He ney£K\na,d time to have his picture, tdken—for, afterall, what did he intend to do that would flash his*' likeness oil the pages of tne ! Ij country’s great dailies. Efee ^ hadn't even had time to i gdt,lt;uArried wnen * * * December II Harbor. |, T!kabtiy one month from that d»yV.°n January 7, 1942. Clydebecame a soldier. Soon rof the five Ridge brothers were*r men' of the army. When another December rolled by it•. ’■ *• ■ y '*■ • J mfound Clfde , in a strange wet iandii Clyde knew all about the mud.j of N$w Guinea for he belonged to^those unsung heros— theAprivatiS of the infantry. He kDjew, his ijmgle rivers, too. And he^as a ipod- swimmer.•; ’fefte1'' laa^^day of v Decembercamel Andr wffch it a heavy: rantjr: of fire from the fortified Japanese. At a point known as the “Finger” on Entrance creek near Buna, New Guinea, the Japs straf ed the:water and shore. On one t j side of the creek American forces j' ; held ground.’ On the other a \ \ I; wounded man lay, in enemy ter- . i• i ritory. . , Who would dare try s 5 l and bring him to safety?. . . . lt;! Private-Ridge of Oklahoma—dare! • ) ‘ With another enlisted man— r ! directly into enemy fire—Clyde i* i Ridge swam that jungle river.. lt;51 Then- with the wounded man.; 1 :: they swam across the “Finger” , ' ■ ■ u«ain, bringing their comrade tosafety.-i And so a citation begins f “With j utter disregard for his own per- -sonal safety, Private First Class 1 RIDGE volunteered ...” ; lt;It ends: “These men performed!] this heroic deed while under j lt;j I heavy enemy fire.” So “for gal-j I! Ian try in action near Buna, New j , j Guinea,” another farmer wears | ^ . | a Silver Star. j.It was months before they read j J s the story, back on the Oklahoma jII farm, 6f how Lieut. Gen. Robert ^^1 Eichelberger, commander of the , , j U. S. forces in the Buna area,1 j ,■ pinned on hero medals one day— ( L - medals awarded by General Mac- ; , Arthur. I, i Beside Mr. and Mrs. Ridge, still1 j ,! of the home farm, there are four | , i; brothers- and four sisters to be proud; PVt- Fred Ridge, Hdqrs. Btry^ 2nd Bn. 190th F. A., has a New York A.P.O. and Pvt. Clarence . D. Ridge- Co. L, 382, Inf.,, is, stationed at Camp Adair, Ore., W. Grf Ridge lives in Richrhond, Calif.,.’ while Luther Ridge, just 16 years old, does his bit on the farm.-'Of the sisters, Beulah and Sally'Ridge still live at Pierce. Mrs.T- R.vPine lives at Muskogee, and i/A. G. Blackwell, at Hunting-tbAvTOrk, Calif.bow? the qonununity of Pierce is sorry ; that Clyde never had time, for- picture posing, because all of the state wants to honor a gallant soldier. A soldier who once learned how to swim—on an Oklahoma farm.i • *•• •■-O--1Iiii((HANNA'BOY TO BE RAIPO OPERATORCpl. John A. Reeves of Hanna has been sent to Chicago to be trained as a radio operatio.• yiitci11
Newspaper Details
Eufaula Indian Journal
Eufaula, Oklahoma, US
Thu, Apr 22, 1943
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Mary K.
OK, USA 16 Jun 2018
Other Publications Near Eufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula Republican
Eufaula Indian Journal
Eufaula Democrat
Creek Freedman Roll
