21May1922 – 17Apr1944
Edison Days
Ralph withdrew from school. No pictures of him while at Edison have been located.
Military Service
Branch: United States Naval Reserve
Rate: Aviation Machinists Mate 3rd Class
Unit: VPB-113 (Patrol Bombing Squadron 113)
Ralph entered the service in 1942. In June of 1943 he was promoted to Aviation Machinist Mate 3rd Class at Navy Pier in Chicago, IL.
It is likely that he joined VPB-113 soon after it was formed on 18Aug1943 at Naval Air Station Oceana at Virginia Beach, Virginia. During the squadron’s first few months of existence, its personnel received ground training using the Link Trainer, gunnery instruction, and radio basics. Flight training commenced on 5 November with the arrival of the squadron’s first PB4Y-1 (the Navy version of the B-24 Liberator).
After shakedown, 12 aircraft were ferried to FAW-7, at RAF Dunkeswell, England. It is unknown if Ralph was a crew member on one of these planes or not.
On 18Jan1944: VB-113 was relocated from NAS Oceana to Naval Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina and a detachment was sent to Naval Air Station Boca Chica, Florida, for advanced Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training.
On 18Mar1944, the squadron crews ferrying aircraft to England rejoined the squadron at NAS Elizabeth City, after an absence of four months. They had not been aboard long when orders came to relocate to Naval Air Station, Virginia, arriving on 1Apr1944.
On 11Apr1944, the squadron was ordered to transfer 14 more replacement crews to FAW-7 at Dunkeswell, England. Ralph was a crew member on one of these planes.
At 330am local time on 18Apr1944, Ralph’s plane took off from Waller Field in Trinidad in the British West Indies. The crew was to fly East after take-off until they reached the coast. For reasons unknow, the crew turned North prior to reaching the coast. The plane crashed into a mountain approximately 6-1/2 miles North of the airfield killing all 10 crewmembers.
Ralph was buried in a temporary cemetery in Trinidad. On 19May1944 a memorial service was held at Billman Funeral Chapel in NE Minneapolis.
In May 1948 Ralph’s remains were returned to Minnesota. He is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.
Edison Heroes 