Head of the "Basque Services" of the Basque exile in Argentina. Born in Bilbao on 27 September 1915, died in 1971.
During the Second World War he belonged to the United States Marine Corps (sergeant in the 3rd Engineer Battalion). In order to be admitted to the Marines, he had to join the US Army, without losing his Basque status. He was fluent in Basque and English. He took part in the Guadalcanal battle and received two decorations. His widow, Teresa Zorraquin, told J.M. Romaña Arteaga:
"Ramón stood out for his great endurance on the marches, and so he soon earned the stripes of sergeant thanks to his exceptional physical fitness. It was not for nothing that he had been a football player in the USA for a time. He was very extroverted and always in excellent spirits. On Guadalcanal he was wounded in the left ear by a bomb blast. Later, after leaving the Marines, he joined the OSS, the American espionage organisation, arriving in Argentina to fight Nazi secret agents".
As a result of the action on Guadalcanal he won the "Purple Heart" and the "Silver Croos of Star". Years later, when the US recognised Franco's regime, he returned both decorations to the Pentagon.
Ref. Romaña, Arteaga, J. M.: La segunda guerra mundial y los vascos, Bilbao, 1988.