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name
KLEY, Ralph Lowe - Date of
birth
30 September 1920 -
Age
24 -
Place of birth
Woodside, Montgomery County, Maryland -
Hometown
Rochester, Monroe County, New York
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-822467 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
564th Bombardment Squadron,
389th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
2 December 1944 - Place of
death
20 miles of Nassau, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 27 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Albert L. Kley (father)
Mildred (Johnston) Kley (mother)
Julia M. Kley (sister)
Albert J. Kley (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-50366 -
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Bingen, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the marshalling yards
MACR: 11130
More information
1st Lt Ralph L. Kley graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and was a machinist at the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester before he joined Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Atlantic City, New Jersey on 1 February 1943. he was sent overseas in July 1944.1st Lt W. E. Pepper:
No crew could definitely state that they saw aircraft 42-50366 go down. An unidentified B-24 which may have been aircraft 42-50366 was attacked by ten enemy aircraft at 1245 hours. The B-24 was hit and lost the left wing, after which the aircraft blew up. Six objects were seen to fall from the aircraft which may have been chutes although they were not seen to open. In the same area the formation behind the 389th was attacked by enemy aircraft at approximately the same time.
T/Sgt Carson W. Turner:
He was hit in the head by a stray bullet or by flak.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record / Adrienne Insel Family Tree, www.fold3.com – MACR, www.findagrave.com – Russ Pickett / MAJ Jimmy Cotton, www.newspapers.com – Democrat and Chronicle - 22 December 1944
Photo source: www.findagrave.com – Major M, www.newspapers.com – Democrat and Chronicle - 22 December 1944/22 May 1944