J P Ronald

J.P. Ronald: A native son of Southwestern Pennsylvania, he is currently still

living there with his wife and daughter. He graduated from The Ohio State

University with a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis

of Manufacturing Engineering. His career spans twenty years as a Mechanical

Engineer in heavy machinery, tooling, and automation design. While a student

at Ohio State he was a member of the Navy ROTC Corps, seeking to become a

nuclear submariner.

J.P.’s love for military history and technology comes through a family linage

involving the United States Navy. His maternal grandfather was a commissioned

Navy officer aboard the carrier USS Wasp CV-18 during World War II, and he even-

tually retired from the reserves as a Commander. His paternal grandfather, while

beyond military service age during World War II, built LSTs at a local shipyard

in Pittsburgh PA. J.P.’s father and uncle both had a major influence in his career

choice as both graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology (Now Carnegie

Mellon University) with Mechanical Engineering degrees, and both work together

at the Bettis Westinghouse Atomic Laboratories (Now Bechtel Marine Propulsion

Corporation), working on refueling procedures for America’s nuclear-powered sub-

marines and surface ships during the Cold War. J.P.’s father’s last assignment was

the refueling procedures of the USS Seadragon SSN-584 in the mid-1970s, which

is the reason JP chose her as the focus submarine of his book.

J.P. is “born again” Christian and Catholic as the result of personal tragedies

and experiences surrounding this beloved father’s death to cancer while finishing

up at Ohio State.