| NAME: R. J. Ake |
NICKNAME: — |
SERVICE NUMBER: 933086 |
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| HOME OF RECORD: Lohn, TX |
NEXT OF KIN: Parents, John & Adelia Ake |
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| DATE OF BIRTH: 9/7/1925 |
SERVICE DATES: 12/11/1943 – 4/25/1946 |
DATE OF DEATH: 7/29/1983 |
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| CAMPAIGN | UNIT | MOS | RATE | RESULT | |||
| None Served | A/1/24 | 745 | PFC | ||||
| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS: — |
LAST KNOWN RANK: Corporal |
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R. J. Ake was born in McCulloch County, Texas in 1925. His father John worked as a farm laborer, and as teenagers R. J. and his older brother, George Bob, were expected to help out as farm hands.
Ake was inducted into the Marine Corps in December, 1943. He trained at MCRD San Diego, then transferred out to the Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor. Ake was promoted to Private First Class, and spent the rest of 1944 manning both heavy and light anti-aircraft guns. Fortunately, he never had to fire them in anger.
In the summer of 1945, PFC Ake was transferred to the 24th Marine Regiment, and became a rifleman with Company A. He trained with them for the invasion of Japan, but the war ended before he had a chance to see combat. After the war, he served as a guard at Camp Pendleton’s brig until his honorable discharge on April 25, 1946.
R. J. hung up his uniform and returned to McCulloch, where he raised two daughters with his wife, Mable Franklin Ake. She died in 1982, and R. J. followed her just a year later. He is buried in Lohn Cemetery.