Edward Ralph McEleney Jr Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Massachusetts

Edward Ralph McEleney Jr
Vietnam War
Vietnam War
Massachusetts
On October 1, 1972 Seaman McEleney was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. He served with honor in the United States Navy. He is remembered by the people of Massachusetts. May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Edward Ralph McEleney Jr is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2020-08-14 12:58:09.
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Missing : Core Data
· Special awards and honors
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location
· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
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Service Details
This Profile ID287447
Service ID018449119
NameEdward Ralph McEleney Jr
FromMedford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Birth DateDecember 1, 1952
Casualty DateOctober 1, 1972
WarVietnam War
Service BranchNavy
RankEnlisted
SpecialtySeaman
Unit/Group7th Fleet, USS Newport News (CA 148)
Casualty TypeDied through hostile action, Misadventure, Friendly Fire
LocationNorth Vietnam, Quang Tri province, Gulf of Tonkin
BurialOak Grove Cemetery, Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Notable Awards
Purple Heart
RememberedEdward Ralph McEleney Jr is buried or memorialized at Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Edward is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 01w, Line 78.
Additional Details
He was serving aboard the USS Newport News when an 8-inch projectile in the bore of the center gun of Turret Two exploded prematurely, setting off several powder casings in the hoists. They had been providing naval gunfire support off the coast of North Vietnam. Over 2 dozen were men killed and dozens of others injured.

Incident Code #USSNewportNews-10011972
We identified 20 casualties in our archive related to the #USSNewportNews-10011972 incident on October 1, 1972.
Herman C Acker :: Seaman Apprentice
Jack S Bergman Jr :: Seaman
William Clark Jr :: Boatswain's Mate
Charles W Clinard :: Gunner's Mate
Ronald P Daley :: Seaman
Raymond R Davis :: Seaman
Terry W Deal :: Seaman
Joseph Grisafi :: Seaman
William H Harrison III :: Seaman Apprentice
Tommy M Hawker :: Gunner's Mate
Robert M Kikkert :: Seaman
Edward R McEleney Jr :: Seaman
Robert T Moore :: Seaman
Stanley G Pilot Jr :: Seaman Apprentice
Ralph L Robinson :: Seaman
Wesley H Rose :: Gunner's Mate
Ricky L Rucker :: Seaman Apprentice
Jeffrey L Scheller :: Seaman Apprentice
David L Scott :: Seaman Apprentice
Richard C Tessman :: Seaman Apprentice
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
Purple Heart
Combat Action Ribbon
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Navy Presidential Unit Citation
Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.
Massachusetts Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Massachusetts who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
Massachusetts was home to over 18,373 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 3,419 World War I
• 12,684 World War II
• 933 Korean War
• 1,337 Vietnam War
• 288 Prisoners of war
• 3,858 Missing in action
• 35 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 153 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 21 Medal of Honor recipients
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