Ray Gunther Wenzel (1924 - 1945)

Born 10 Mar 1924 in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States

Died 30 Jul 1945 at age 21 in Philippine Sea

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Biography

Radio Technician 3rd Class Ray Wenzel served in the United States Navy in World War II
Service started:
Unit(s): USS Indianapolis (CA-35)
Service ended: 30 Jul 1945

Radio Technician 3rd Class Ray Wenzel was Killed in Action during World War II.

Ray Wenzel was awarded the Purple Heart.

Ray was born in 1924. The son of Max Ernst Wenzel and Gertrude Clara Bachman.^[1]He married Marcella Catherine Gray on 15 Jan 1944, they had a daughter Catherine Hazel Wenzel, born in 1945.^[2]

Ray was stationed on the USS Indianapolis as a Radio Technician 3rd Class. In July 1945 the USS Indianapolis was sent on a secret mission to deliver the components of the Little Boy atomic bomb to Tinian Island without an escort, on the return trip, still without escort, it was attacked by a Japanese submarine. The USS Indianapolis sank in 15 minutes on 30 Jul 1945 with some 300 of the 1,195 crewmen aboard going down with the ship. With few lifeboats and many without life jackets, only 316 of the nearly 900 men set adrift survived the 4 days before rescue. Ray was awarded the Purple Heart. The crew of the US Indianapolis was later awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.^[3][4][5]

Ray is included at two memorials, the USS Indianapolis National Memorial in Indianapolis, Indiana and the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Philippines.^[6][7]

Sources

1. ↑ Missouri, U.S., Birth Registers, 1847-1999 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/13628526:1170?ssrc=pt&tid=112818367&pid=190105519863
2. ↑ U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/60030340:62116?ssrc=pt&tid=112818367&pid=190105519863
3. ↑ "Kansas, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGGQ-B6MX : 2 March 2020), null, 1942.
4. ↑ U.S., Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/340016:1102?ssrc=pt&tid=112818367&pid=190105519863
5. ↑ U.S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted-for Remains, Group B (Unrecoverable), 1941-1975 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3862:62207?ssrc=pt&tid=112818367&pid=190105519863
6. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKT-8TTQ : 20 October 2022), Ray Gunther Wenzel, ; Burial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
7. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:73PG-QTT2 : 25 February 2022), Ray Gunther Wenzel, ; Burial, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, United States of America, U.S.S. Indianapolis National Memorial

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHFX-P2Q : accessed 8 November 2022), Gunther R Wenzel in household of Max E Wenzel, Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri
• "United States Census, 1940" https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRK8-3N8 Gunther Wenzel in household of Earnest Wenzel,