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name
LEWIS, Ralph Edward - Date of
birth
17 November 1924 -
Age
20 -
Place of birth
Illinois -
Hometown
Benton, Franklin County, Illinois
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-826699 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
335th Fighter Squadron,
4th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
18 November 1944 - Place of
death
Gunzburg, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 40 | 21 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Lemuel E. Lewis (father)
Lillian M. (Willis) Lewis (mother)
Willis Lewis (brother)
Everett R. Lewis (brother)
Mary B. Lewis (sister)
Isabelle Lewis (sister)
Harry L. Lewis (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
44-14529 -
Data
Type: P-51D
Destination: The vicinity of the airfield of Leipheim, Germany
Mission: Bomber escort
MACR: 10328
More information
Lt. Ralph E. Lewis joined the 4th Fighter Group in England in September of 1944.He was on his 19th mission when he was lost.
He was shot down in a dogfight with 4 Luftwaffe fighter, downing 3 before falling victim to the 4th. His body was recovered by villagers and buried in the local cemetery. At the conclusion of the war, his grave was identified and with consent of the family, he was reinterred at the Ardennes American Military Cemetery
He is remembered at the Masonic and Oddfellows Cemetery in Benton, Illinois.
His brother, 1st Lt Everett Russell Lewis, serving with the Army Air Corps, was killed in an aircraft accident on 12 April 1945 near DeBerry, Texas
He is remembered at the Masonic and Odd Fellows Cemetery in Benton, Illinois.
Source of information: Michel Beckers, Terry Hirsch, www.ancestry.com - 1930 -1940 census / Headstone and Interment Record / Family Trees
Photo source: www.findagrave.com