Ralph Gregory Treppa

"Sonny"

Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 565787

Born

October 7. 1926
in Detroit, MI

Parents

George Michael Treppa
Sophia (Lijewski) Treppa (d. 1939)

School

Denby High School (1944?)

Pre-War Employment

Brothers Manufacturing Company

Entered Service

March 28, 1944
at Detroit, MI

Joined First Battalion

February 27, 1945
from 24th Replacement Draft

Left First Battalion

March 2, 1945
Killed in action at Iwo Jima

Left Service

March 2, 1945
Killed in action

Home Address and Next of Kin

19151 Teppert Street, Detroit, MI – address of father, George M. Treppa
Note: Some sources give Mr. Treppa’s first name as “Gregory.”

Service & Campaigns

Before joining battalion

Boot camp at MCRD San Diego with Third Recruit Battalion. Outposted to casual company, Recruit Depot. Transferred to the Third Training Battalion, 2nd Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Pendleton for instruction as an anti-tank gunner. Assigned duty with the 24th Replacement Draft, attached to the Fourth Marine Division, for the Iwo Jima operation.

Iwo Jima

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private
MOS: 610 (Antitank Gunner)
Important Events:
February 27, 1945 – joined from 24th Replacement Draft
March 2, 1945 – killed in action (gunshot, head); exact details unknown
March 10, 1945 – buried in Plot 1, Row 27, Grave 1304, Fourth Marine Division Cemetery

Campaign Narrative

Individual Decorations

Medal
Purple Heart

Campaign
March 2, 1945

Citation

We boarded ship on January 1, 1945 for Iwo Jima. I was on board ship and never got off until the twenty-second of February. There were six men in a bunk tier. You just squeezed in there, and it stunk, and someone would say, "This guy's getting seasick." Ralph Treppa was always sick. Every time we got on board, he'd start turning green and yellow, and he would just lie in his bunk all the time. He couldn't eat or anything.

Lawrence A. Trower 24th Replacement Draft / B/1/24th Marines

Ralph is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan.

Gallery

The Detroit Evening Times, 4 April 1945.

Ralph Treppa's grave in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery, Iwo JIma.