The Pratt Family

From left, Lester Leslie, Malcolm L., Lester C., and Robert B. Pratt

Robert and Adrienne Pratt with Robert's father, Lester C. Pratt

Leslie, Lester and Malcom Pratt

Dr. Lester Cross Pratt

Dr. L.C. Pratt hanging a Blue Star Flag with a star for each of his sons serving in the military

Dr. Malcolm L. Pratt was killed at Guadalcanal during WWII

John L. Pratt with his sisters Sally, Mary Katherine, and Jane

USS Pratt DE-363 being christened by Katherine West Pratt

The Pratt DE-363 was commissioned on September 18, 1944

Pratt was escort commander for convoys running between New Guinea and the Philippines

Three generations of the Pratt family served as physicians in Logan County, starting with Dr. Edwin Pratt in 1850. Members of the Pratt family also had honorable military careers.

Edwin Pratt was born in 1827 near Granville, Ohio to Moses Lester and Abigail Pratt. In 1846, he began reading medicine under his uncle, Dr. Pratt, and Dr. Thrall. He attended Starling Medical College and graduated in 1849. He practiced medicine in Licking County for about one year and then moved his office to Bloom Center. While at Bloom Center, he also served as postmaster, treasurer of the township, and was one of the organizers of the Methodist Church there. In 1865, he moved to Bellefontaine and continued practicing medicine for another thirty years. Dr. Pratt’s brother, Dr. Moses Lester Pratt Jr, had a medical office in Quincy from 1863 until his death in 1881.

Dr. Edwin Pratt married Maria Cross, and they had three children. Their oldest son, Lester Cross Pratt, also became a doctor. He graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1883 and then returned to Bellefontaine to open his medical practice. During his long service in Bellefontaine, Dr. L.C. Pratt tended to hundreds of patients, served as the first president of the reorganized Logan County Medical Society, and sat on the U.S. Pension Board for 16 years.

Dr. L.C. Pratt and his wife, Sarah, had three sons, Lester L., Robert B., and Malcolm L., who all became physicians. Their oldest son, Lester L. graduated from Starling Medical College in 1907 and then began a long military career. He received his commission in the U.S. Navy in 1910. His first post was at the U.S. Naval Medical School in Washington, DC and he subsequently served as Chief of Medicine aboard the hospital ship, Relief. During WWI, he served as Battalion and Regimental Surgeon and took part in major engagements with the 2nd Marine Division. His post included command of all field hospitals of the second division.

During WWII, he served as Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval Hospitals in Jacksonville, FL and Albany, NY. Dr. Lester L. Pratt retired from the U.S. Navy in 1947 as a Rear Admiral. He received the Navy Cross, the Army Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, World War I Victory Ribbon with six stars, and the Croix de Guerre with Palms.

Robert B. Pratt continued the family tradition when he graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1910. He then returned to Bellefontaine and established a medical practice. Soon after the U.S. entered WWI, he joined the Jefferson Hospital medical unit that was sent to France. There, Dr. R.B. Pratt organized the American base hospital in Nantes, France. For his service he was decorated by the French government with the Croix de Guerre. In the spring of 1919, Dr. R.B. Pratt was united in marriage with Adrienne Pairotteau of Nantes, France. They returned to Bellefontaine in August.

Malcolm L. Pratt graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1914. He then followed his brothers into military service when he volunteered for the U.S. Naval Reserve Corps in 1918. He was captain of the 5th U.S. Marines. “Dr. Malcom Pratt received the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in reestablishing an advanced aid station just demolished by shellfire in Lucy le Bocage on 11 June 1918, and in continuing to dress and evacuate the wounded under direct and continuous shellfire at Thiancourt on 13 September.” He was also awarded a World War I Victory Ribbon with one silver star.

After serving in WWI, Drs. Robert and Malcom Pratt opened a practice together at 130-132 N. Main St. specializing in surgery and X-Rays. Dr. R.B. Pratt served as chief surgeon at Mary Rutan Hospital, president of the Logan County Medical Society, and was also a founding member of the American Board of Surgery.

After WWI, Dr. M.L. Pratt continued to be in the Naval Reserves. When WWII started, he could have been exempted from further military duty due to his age, but he chose instead to continue to serve his country. He became the Regimental Surgeon for the 5th Marine Regiment. In August of 1942, Lt. Commander Pratt was killed during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Solomon Islands.

Dr. M.L. Pratt’s son, John L. Pratt, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on May 6, 1941, four days after his father reported for duty as a lieutenant commander. John Pratt was appointed a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve on November 1,1941 and first lieutenant on October 1, 1942. He was killed in action on Guadalcanal on January 22, 1943, a little over five months after his father had died on the same island.

Throughout WWII, Dr. R.B. Pratt served as the medical examiner for Logan County service members and was on the surgical staff at Mary Rutan Hospital.

In 1944, the US Navy named a destroyer escort, the USS Pratt (DE-363) after Lt. Commander Dr. Malcom Pratt and his son, First Lt. John L. Pratt who were both killed in action during WWII. The ship was sponsored by Katherine West Pratt, widow of Malcolm and mother of John Pratt.