The Peru Gazette

USS Arkab – In Service May 1944, Out of Service January 1946

By John T. Ryan

Ralph Santor has always associated with people just a little older than himself. He was one of the youngest members of Peru High School’s class of 1944. He was also one of the youngest at his U.S. Navy seaman’s training and as a member of the crew of the USS Arkab.

Ralph Santor – Bottom Left

Ralph Santor and his son Butch

Last Saturday, at age 86, Ralph Santor was once again the youngster in the group. He was the youngest veteran to participate in the North Country Honor Flight to Washington D.C.  Both Ralph and his son Butch, who accompanied him on the trip, had a great day. Ralph said, “Seeing the World War II Memorial, The Iwo Jima Monument and Arlington Cemetery was a great experience.” Butch enjoyed the trip because he was able to assist his father and some of the other veterans, especially in getting on and off the bus.

Seaman Ralph Santor has many memories of his World War II service.  He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on the first day he was eligible –  May 1, 1944, the day he turned 18.  He served on the USS Arkab, a 441-foot long ship with a 206 member crew. The USS Arkab transported cargo and over 1,200 passengers to bases in the Pacific, steaming some 60,000 miles by December 1945. Ports of call included Pearl Harbor, Manus Island, and the Admiralty Islands.

On one of those islands Santor met the pilot of the Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 bomber that dropped the hydrogen bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Colonel Paul Tibbets told Santor, “If you would have gotten here a week ago I would have taken you for a ride.” Santor responded, “The hell you would have.”

Ralph Santor – Bottom Right

Sailors are famous for enjoying their onshore liberty and Santor is no exception.  One planned two-day liberty in Hawaii was extended to two weeks after the captain met an “old friend” on shore. Santor had already emptied his wallet thinking he had only two days of liberty. He managed to borrow $7 from two buddies and enjoyed at least one more night away from the ship.

Discharged from the Navy in July of 1946, Ralph returned to the North Country where he went to work for Truman Davis driving a tractor-trailer filled with Peru apples to buyers throughout the northeast. In the early 1950’s, he began working for Fort Edward Express driving a tank truck over 2 million accident-free miles during his career. Santor smiled broadly when he talked about representing Fort Edward Express at a truck driver rodeo in Syracuse. He said simply, “I was a good driver and I loved it.”

Ralph Santor – 2 million accident-free miles for Ft. Edward Express

Santor’s family has been the center of his life. In 1949, he married his childhood neighbor, Marilyn St. Louis. They had two children, Ralph (Butch) and Sandra Lynn (Sandy). Sandy Santor passed away in 1999 and Marilyn Santor passed away in February of 2012. Ralph still resides in his home at the corner of the Military Turnpike and the Irish Settlement Road.