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name
KING, Ralph Virgil - Date of
birth
30 October 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Kamas, Summit County, Utah -
Hometown
Los Angeles County, California
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
39835262 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Armorer Gunner -
Unit
776th Bombardment Squadron,
464th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 October 1944 - Place of
death
Leonding, Austria
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 8 | 17 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Virgil A. King (father)
Thelda M. (Olsen) King (mother)
Kathryn King (sister)
Jack L. King (brother)
Robert T. King (brother)
Patricia L. King (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-51389 -
Data
Type: B-24J
Nickname: Flying Box Car, Flying Coffin
MACR: 9132
Destination: St. Valentin, Austria
Mission: Bombing the tank factory
MACR: 9132
More information
Ralph King graduated from Kamas High School in 1938 and attended Brigham Young University. He left the university to work for Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank, California.The airplane was hit by anti-aircraft fire which blew off at least 25 feet of the left wing. The plane veered to the left almost hitting another airplane and fell to the earth.
Eight crew members were killed. They were initially buried at the cemetery of Leonding, Austria, on 17 October 1944. One man survived and was taken prisoner.
S/Sgt Ralph V. King was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery of St. Avold, France.
His brother Pvt Jack L. King served in the U.S. Navy and was killed in action in the vicinity of the Negros Islands. He is remembered at the Walls of the Missing of the American Military Cemetery and Memorial of Manilla, Philippines.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, http://web.archive.org - BYU Memorial
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com, http://web.archive.org - BYU Memorial