9Jul1950 – 24Oct1969
Edison Days
Ralph graduated with the Class of 1968
Military Service
Rank: Sergeant
Branch: United States Army
Unit: A Company – 2nd Battalion – 12th Infantry Regiment – 25th Infantry Division
Ralph was drafted in the Army and entered service in September 1968. It is unknown where he attended basic training.
After 8 weeks of basic training and 8 weeks of Advanced Individual Training Ralph was sent to Vietnam on 7Mar1969. It is likely that Ralph was not assigned to any particular unit when he arrived in Vietnam. He would have been an individual replacement to fill personnel shortages caused by casualties or soldiers rotating back home after completing their tours.
When Ralph got to the 12th Infantry Regiment there was little time for training and acclimation. From mid-March through October 1969, Ralph’s unit worked northeast of Cu Chi with the 25th Infantry Division, rotating among Fire Support Base Pershing, Fire Support Base Stuart, and Patrol Base Dees.
Day to day missions included road security on Highway 6A, escorting combat engineers as they cleared the jungle, village cordons, and night ambushes in areas known as the Citadel, the Ho Bo Woods, and the Boi Loi Woods.
In late July Ralph’s unit joined a brigade sweep that broke an enemy bunker complex in the Citadel.
In late September, Ralph, A Company, and B Company air-assaulted into the Boi Loi Woods and made repeated assaults on a horseshoe-shaped bunker line.
On24October1969 two platoons from Ralph’s unit helicoptered into the Ho Bo Woods on a patrol. They discovered a large enemy bunker complex and soon found themselves in a fierce, day long battle with the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army. With support from fighter bombers, helicopter guns ships, and armored vehicles, 3 separate assaults were made to clear the bunker complex. At some point during the battle Ralph was killed in action when struck by an enemy grenade. He was 1 of 7 soldiers from A Company killed that day.
Ralph’s funeral was held on 31Oct1969.
Ralph is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Ralph was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the 3rd highest award for valor, and his second Bronze Star earned during his 7 months in Vietnam.
Ralph’s name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Panel 17W, Line 112.
Ralph’s name is also inscribed on a memorial plaque at St. Clement Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
