Ronald Emmett Spratt was born in Greenfield, Mass., in December 1945. He attended Daytona Beach Junior College, in Florida, before studying at the Naval Academy Prep School and later graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971.
Spratt commissioned into the Marine Corps in 1971 and served various command and staff assignments over the next 20 years, including stations at 29 Palms, Calif., Marine Barracks, Guam, Fort Sill, Okla., Camp Lejeune, N.C., and overseas in Okinawa and South Korea. He also served as commanding officer of Marine Detachment/UNITAS for allied training and operations in South America and West Africa.
When Spratt retired, he set to work in senior development and fundraising positions for national military and Veteran nonprofit groups, raising funds for the National World War II Memorial, American Red Cross, National Defense University Foundation, and Project HOPE. He joined TAPS in 2008, and was also active in his local Kiwanis Club.
Spratt died on Oct. 12, 2016, and is survived by his wife of 42 years, Anne Davis Spratt.
We honor his service.