SGT Ralph Bartholow (WWII)


Remembering SGT Ralph Bartholow (Fairmont/Millersville)

July 11, 1924 - October 13, 1944

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SGT Ralph Bartholow (Service #35755660) was born in Millersville, West Virginia, on July 11, 1924, the son of Carl (Sr.) & Hazel (Hansford) Bartholow.

Their family moved from the Millersville area between 1927 (1927 City Directory) and 1929, where they lived at 408 Auburn Street (described as "Hotel Garage" in the 1935 City Directory) and Carl worked as a chauffeur (1929 Fairmont City Directory) and a concrete company driver (1930 Census).

Some time between 1935 and 1938, Hazel and Carl divorced, with Hazel maintaining custody of Ralph and Carl, Jr. on Auburn Street (1938 City Directory). Hazel and the kids soon moved to 409 Diamond Street, Apartment 8, where Ralph would spend the rest of his years (1939 City Directory, 1940 Census).

Education and Military Service:

Ralph attended East Fairmont High School for two years, alongside his brother, Carl. Had Ralph finished his time at EFHS, he would have been in the graduating class of 1941, alongside four other lost servicemen: Leonard "Leo" Brown, Howard Dodd, Tom Knox, and William "Bill" Layman.

Ralph entered the draft on December 12, 1942. At the time, Ralph was working for the Fairmont Aluminum Company, now known as Novelis. He was 5'8" and 140 lbs, with blue eyes and blonde hair.

He enlisted on June 2, 1943 in Clarksburg, WV, serving in the 743rd Bomber Squadron, 455th Bombardment Group, Heavy. 

Crash in Poland

SGT Ralph Bartholow was serving as an Engineer/Gunner on board  B-24J #42-78605 on October 13, 1944, piloted by SGT Dorenz H. Meyer. During a raid on the Blechhammer-South Oil Refinery in occupied Poland, their plane was hit by enemy fire.

A witness statement from 1LT Robert J. Kermes from Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 9055 reads: "On 13 October 1944 at approximately 1133 hours, Aircraft #605 received a direct flak burst amidship, after it had released the bomb load on the target at Blechhammer--South Oil Refinery, and to go down in two distinct parts at 50°18'N - 18°15'E. No explosion or fire was noted. Three to five parachutes were reported as coming from the plane, primarily from the forward portion."

German records indicate that B-24J #42-78605 crashed in a forest near Stara Kuźnia, Poland, at the time known as Klein-Althammer, and those killed were buried on October 17 and 18 (MACR 9055, pg 13-16). Two servicemembers survived and were captured: SGT George W. Crottie and SGT Harold Pletz.

Page 22 of MACR 9055 states that this was Ralph's 5th or 6th mission. The writer, SGT George  Crottie says "as in the case of the rest of the forward crew members, I believe he was killed by terrific explosion."

Survivors and Legacy:

As his remains have never been recovered, SGT Ralph Bartholow has a cenotaph on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands.

Ralph was survived by his mother, Hazel, who was still at Diamond Street well into the 1950s, and his father and brother, who by then both resided in Texas. Carl Jr, who went on to marry and have two children, named his son Ralph.

He is honored at the West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston, WV. 

Sources and More Information:


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