Ralph Ward's plane disappeared while on a routine trip from Bermuda to Florida. It disappeared in that area of the ocean known as "The Bermuda Triangle". A cushion, an oxygen tank, and some insulation from the same type of airplane (C-54 transport) were found, but no positive identification was ever made. It has been suggested that navigational equipment failed, but why such a skilled crew went down so suddenly has never been determined.
The crew:
Sgt. Andrew S. Bagocus , Sgt. Ernest Fey,
Sgt. Fred Fricks , Capt. Clyde Inman , and Major John Sands .
Ralph lived in Concord, North Carolina. He graduated from high school with honors and was a student at Guilford College for 3 years. he transferred to Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md. where he was a student until 1941.
In 1941 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and began his training in the Army Air Corps at Arcadia, Florida.
In Oct. 1942 he was sent to England as a member of the 8th Air Force. He was the pilot of a flying fortress "Jack Rabbit", one of the first to be sent on a strategic attempt to demolish the German air forces by intense bombing raids. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters. After completing these missions,he was assigned to the staff of General LeMay and advanced to the rank of major.
He carried ammunition and supplies to the French Free Forces, and was later awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government. In September 1944 he returned home and was assigned to Army Transport Command. He made 35 trips across the Atlantic bringing troops home.
A stone was erected in the cemetery in his memory. He and his wife Jenny had no children. Besides his wife, he was survived by his parents and a sister, Millicent and brother, Bill, and his nieces and nephews who cherish his memory today.
(Maintained by family who love and miss him)
The crew:
Sgt. Andrew S. Bagocus , Sgt. Ernest Fey,
Sgt. Fred Fricks , Capt. Clyde Inman , and Major John Sands .
Ralph lived in Concord, North Carolina. He graduated from high school with honors and was a student at Guilford College for 3 years. he transferred to Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md. where he was a student until 1941.
In 1941 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and began his training in the Army Air Corps at Arcadia, Florida.
In Oct. 1942 he was sent to England as a member of the 8th Air Force. He was the pilot of a flying fortress "Jack Rabbit", one of the first to be sent on a strategic attempt to demolish the German air forces by intense bombing raids. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters. After completing these missions,he was assigned to the staff of General LeMay and advanced to the rank of major.
He carried ammunition and supplies to the French Free Forces, and was later awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government. In September 1944 he returned home and was assigned to Army Transport Command. He made 35 trips across the Atlantic bringing troops home.
A stone was erected in the cemetery in his memory. He and his wife Jenny had no children. Besides his wife, he was survived by his parents and a sister, Millicent and brother, Bill, and his nieces and nephews who cherish his memory today.
(Maintained by family who love and miss him)
Ralph Ward's plane disappeared while on a routine trip from Bermuda to Florida. It disappeared in that area of the ocean known as "The Bermuda Triangle". A cushion, an oxygen tank, and some insulation from the same type of airplane (C-54 transport) were found, but no positive identification was ever made. It has been suggested that navigational equipment failed, but why such a skilled crew went down so suddenly has never been determined.
The crew:
Sgt. Andrew S. Bagocus , Sgt. Ernest Fey,
Sgt. Fred Fricks , Capt. Clyde Inman , and Major John Sands .
Ralph lived in Concord, North Carolina. He graduated from high school with honors and was a student at Guilford College for 3 years. he transferred to Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md. where he was a student until 1941.
In 1941 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and began his training in the Army Air Corps at Arcadia, Florida.
In Oct. 1942 he was sent to England as a member of the 8th Air Force. He was the pilot of a flying fortress "Jack Rabbit", one of the first to be sent on a strategic attempt to demolish the German air forces by intense bombing raids. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters. After completing these missions,he was assigned to the staff of General LeMay and advanced to the rank of major.
He carried ammunition and supplies to the French Free Forces, and was later awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government. In September 1944 he returned home and was assigned to Army Transport Command. He made 35 trips across the Atlantic bringing troops home.
A stone was erected in the cemetery in his memory. He and his wife Jenny had no children. Besides his wife, he was survived by his parents and a sister, Millicent and brother, Bill, and his nieces and nephews who cherish his memory today.
(Maintained by family who love and miss him)
The crew:
Sgt. Andrew S. Bagocus , Sgt. Ernest Fey,
Sgt. Fred Fricks , Capt. Clyde Inman , and Major John Sands .
Ralph lived in Concord, North Carolina. He graduated from high school with honors and was a student at Guilford College for 3 years. he transferred to Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md. where he was a student until 1941.
In 1941 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and began his training in the Army Air Corps at Arcadia, Florida.
In Oct. 1942 he was sent to England as a member of the 8th Air Force. He was the pilot of a flying fortress "Jack Rabbit", one of the first to be sent on a strategic attempt to demolish the German air forces by intense bombing raids. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters. After completing these missions,he was assigned to the staff of General LeMay and advanced to the rank of major.
He carried ammunition and supplies to the French Free Forces, and was later awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government. In September 1944 he returned home and was assigned to Army Transport Command. He made 35 trips across the Atlantic bringing troops home.
A stone was erected in the cemetery in his memory. He and his wife Jenny had no children. Besides his wife, he was survived by his parents and a sister, Millicent and brother, Bill, and his nieces and nephews who cherish his memory today.
(Maintained by family who love and miss him)
Gravesite Details
Cenotaph
