Forrest Dunfee Ridenour (1921 - 1944)

Born 13 Jul 1921 in Oklahoma, United States

Ancestors

Died 9 Mar 1944 at age 22 in The North Atlantic

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Biography

S-1C Forrest Ridenour was MIA on life raft when U-Boat attacked U.S.S. Leopold during World War II.

Seaman 1st Class Forrest Ridenour served in the United States Coast Guard in World War II
Service started: 1942
Unit(s): U.S.S. Leopold
Service ended: March 9, 1944

Seaman 1st Class Forrest Dunfee Ridenour, No. 539464, U.S. Coast Guard, KIA.

Forrest Dunfee Ridenour, S1C was serving on the USS Leopold, which was escorting merchant ships and was attacked by German U-Boats. It is unknown if he died in the attack or in the horrific conditions in life rafts along with others, in the Atlantic Ocean, as several men died of exposure before they could be rescued. He was first listed as Missing in Action. His wife was listed in the Naval History Net as Mrs. Verna Lee Ridenour, who lived in El Reno at the time. Brian Rukes of El Reno High School wrote that he was honored to interview her at 92 years of age.

Ridenour is commemorated at Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Cambridge, England. His name is included on the Tablets of the Missing.

Sources

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56293739/forrest-dunfee-ridenour

https://www.naval-history.net/WW2UScasaaDB-USCGbyNAME.htm

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-56HF-Z?i=1251&cc=1709399&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXV5S-9QN