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MAJ Mark E Cooper
to remember
Haines, Ralph Edward, BG.
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Contact Info
Home Town Vinton
Date of Passing Jun 22, 1976
Location of Interment San Francisco National Cemetery (VA) - San Francisco, California
Ralph Edward Haines was born on August 4, 1883 in Vinton, Iowa as one of three sons. In 1886, he moved to California with his family. In 1907, after graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he worked for the U.S. Geological Survey for two years. In 1910, Ralph Edward Haines received a commission as Second Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps (C.A.C.). After completing a course of instruction at Fort Monroe, Virginia, he was assigned to the 45th Company, C.A.C. in Fort Galveston, Texas and sent to the Mexican Border in 1911.
In 1916, Haines graduated with honors from the Coast Artillery School at Fort Monroe and was sent to the Philippines where he worked in Harbor Defenses until 1919. After returning to Fort Monroe as an instructor, he attended advanced courses at the same school as a student, immediately enrolling in the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas after the course's completion.
After graduating in 1924, Haines was assigned to the Harbor Defenses of San Francisco where he served as Executive Officer of the 6th Coast Artillery until 1926. He continued his education at the Army War College in Washington, D.C. He graduated in 1927 and took a position with the General Staff at Headquarters, 8th Corps Area, Fort Sam Houston, Texas as War Plans Officer until 1931.
In January of 1941, Haines was promoted to the rank of temporary Brigadier General and placed in command of the 70th Coast Artillery (Anti-Aircraft). In September of 1942, Haines returned to San Francisco in command of the Harbor Defenses at Fort Winfield Scott. Then, in January of 1943, he was also designated Assistant Sector Command of Northern California Sector of the Western Defense Command which then became his sole responsibility after he was relieved from his Harbor Defenses command. He retired from active duty in July 1945.
He married Ethel Lyman, with whom he had two sons: Ralph E. Haines, Jr., born in 1913 and John Lyman Haines, born in 1917. Ralph E. Haines, Jr. attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and joined the Armored Services. He rose to the rank of General and eventually commanded the Continental Army Command at Fort Monroe in 1972. John Lyman Haines attended the Naval Academy at Annapolis and served as an officer in the Submarine Service. Haines, Sr.'s brothers offer further evidence of an impressive family line: Brigadier General Oliver Lincoln Haines had an equally illustrious military career and Charles C. Haines was a Superior Court Judge in San Diego.
Mexican Service Campaign (1911-1919)
From Month/Year
April / 1911
To Month/Year
June / 1919
Description The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military which was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December 12, 1917. The Mexican Service Medal recognizes those service members who performed military service against Mexican forces between the dates of April 12, 1911 and June 16, 1919.
To be awarded the Mexican Service Medal, a service member was required to perform military duty during the time period of eligibility and in one of the following military engagements.
Veracruz Expedition: April 21 to November 23, 1914
Punitive Expedition into Mexico: March 14, 1916 to February 7, 1917
Buena Vista, Mexico: December 1, 1917
San Bernardino Canyon, Mexico: December 26, 1917
La Grulla, Texas: January 8 – January 9, 1918
Pilares, Chihuahua: March 28, 1918
Nogales, Arizona: November 1–26, 1915, or August 27, 1918
El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua: June 15 – June 16, 1919
The United States Navy issued the Mexican Service Medal to members of the Navy and Marines who participated in any of the above actions, as well as to service members who served aboard U.S. naval vessels patrolling Mexican waters between April 21 and November 26, 1914, or between March 14, 1916, and February 7, 1917.
The Mexican Service Medal was also awarded to any service member who was wounded or killed while participating in action any against hostile Mexican forces between April 12, 1911 and February 7, 1917.
Although a single decoration, both the Army and Navy issued two different versions of the Mexican Service Medal. The Army Mexican Service Medal displayed an engraving of a yucca plant, while the Navy version depicts the San Juan de Ulúa fortress in Veracruz harbor. Both medals displayed the annotation "1911 - 1917" on the bottom of the medal.
The Mexican Service Medal was a one time decoration and there were no service stars authorized for those who had participated in multiple engagements. For those Army members who had been cited for gallantry in combat, the Citation Star was authorized as a device to the Mexican Service Medal. There were no devices authorized for the Navy's version of the decoration.
A similar decoration, known as the Mexican Border Service Medal also existed for those who had performed support duty to Mexican combat expeditions from within the United States.
