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name
KIRKMAN, Ralph E - Date of
birth
1925 -
Age
unknown -
Place of birth
Lake Forest, Lake County, Illinois -
Hometown
Libertyville, Lake County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
16175207 -
Rank
Corporal -
Function
unknown -
Unit
759th Field Artillery Battalion
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Died of Wounds - Date of
death
14 April 1945 - Place of
death
Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| I | 17 | 4 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Emory Kirkman (father)
Ebba (Anderson) Kirkman (mother)
Donald Kirkman (brother)
Elaine Kirkman (sister)
More information
Cpl Ralph E. Kirkman graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1943.He volunteered for the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort Sheridan, Illinois on 14 February 1943. He was selected for the A.S.T.P. prgram and attended the University of Wisconsin for three months. He joined the infantry and because of a heart ailment was given leave.
He was recalled and was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, they decided to put those boys in the infantry, which terminated further schooling for all of them. Later Cpl Kirkman was transferred to Field Artillery.
Chaplain Edward L. Pearson, attached to an army hospital in Germany wrote to his family that Cpl Kirkman was clearing a mine field so that troops could safely enter the area. He was brought to the hospital at 7 p.m. on Saturday 14 April 1945 and passed away at 7:20 o'clock. He had suffered wounds and both feet were amputated.
One picture is from the Lake Forest High School, which shows the Patrol Boys, 1938-1939, standing on the steps of Gorton School.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Astrid van Erp, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census, www.newspapers.com - The Daily Sentinel, www.lflbhistory.org
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, Laurie Stein (Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society)