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L. Ron Hubbard's real US Navy record

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According to the accounts given by L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology's over the years, Hubbard's US Navy record looks something like this:

1941

 Commissioned before the outbreak of war & sent to the Philippines.

[Scientology magazine, vol. 1 issue 1, 1968]

Sent to Java but machine-gunned by invading Japanese.
Sailed to Australia on a raft.

[Testimony of Capt. Thomas Moulton,
Church of Scientology of California vs. Gerald Armstrong, 1984]

Ordered to Australia to coordinate intelligence activities in Dec 1941.

[L. Ron Hubbard - A Chronicle, 1991]

Posted to Australia to man "the only anti-aircraft battery in Australia."

["An interview granted to the Australian Press [by LRH] on January 10th 1963"]

1942

 Flown home as first US returned casualty of World War II.

[Scientology magazine, vol. 1 issue 1, 1968]

Relieved by 15 officers of rank & rushed home to participate in Battle of the Atlantic.

[Mission into Time, 1973]

Posted to command a corvette in the North Atlantic.
Rose to command Anglo-US "Fourth British Squadron".

[Scientology magazine, vol. 1 issue 1, 1968]

Posted in March 1942 to a North Atlantic convoy escort vessel.

[L. Ron Hubbard - A Chronicle, 1991]

1943

 Posted to North Pacific subchaser.

[L. Ron Hubbard - A Chronicle, 1991]

1944

 Serves as instructor & chief navigation officer, and is
"selected to Princeton University's Military Government School" [sic]

[L. Ron Hubbard - A Chronicle, 1991]

Serves with amphibious forces (in Europe?)

[Flag Operations Liaison Office memo, 28 May 1974]

Crippled and blinded; confined to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital.

[Mission into Time, 1973]

1945
Awarded a total of 27 medals and palms.

[A Brief Biography of L. Ron Hubbard, c. 1960]

In 1974, Hubbard tried to claim 17 (!) medals from the USN, namely the following (but was refused):

  1. Navy Commendation Medal with 1 Bronze Star.
  2. Purple Heart.
  3. Naval Reserve Medal.
  4. Organized Marine Corps Reserve Medal.
  5. (British) The 1939-45 War Medal.
  6. (French) Medaille Commemorative Francaise 1939-45.
  7. (Netherlands) Bronzen Kruis.
  8. Philippine Defence with 3 Silver Stars.
  9. American Defence Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star.
  10. American Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Stars.
  11. Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Stars.
  12. European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (ETO Medal) with 1 Bronze Star.
  13. WWII Victory Medal.
  14. National Defence Medal.
  15. Armed Forces Reserve Medal.
  16. Navy Expert Rifleman.
  17. Navy Expert Pistol Shot.

[Flag Operations Liaison Office memo, 28 May 1974]
Cures himself using early version of Dianetic therapy.

[Images of a Lifetime, 1996]

Appointed US Provost Marshal in Korea.

[A Report to Members of Parliament on Scientology, 1969]

1946

 Discharged from the US Navy in February 1946.

[L. Ron Hubbard - A Chronicle, 1991]

The observant reader will notice some striking contradictions. It is scarcely surprising that they exist: very little of the above is true. He also claimed to have been a first sergeant in the US Marine Corps in the 1930s, in which capacity he visited various places in the Pacific. This, too, was not true.

The following document was produced as a result of a request made under the Freedom of Information Act - for which, ironically, the Church of Scientology had campaigned vigorously. It provides a concise summary of L. Ron Hubbard's naval career, showing that in his 4 years and 7 months of active duty, he spent only 4½ months actually aboard a ship; he spent more time in training than at sea. It also shows that he was entitled to only four medals, three of which were awarded to all US service personnel during the war and the fourth of which was awarded to all personnel in the Asiatic-Pacific theatre.

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* Ron's real service record *

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Last updated 5 Jan 1997