Ralph J. Leffelman was born on January 2, 1910 in the city of Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon to Jacob W. Leffelman/Leoffelman and Anna Leffelman, nee Wridy/Wride. Both parents were born in Austria. Ralph’s siblings were Antone, Bertha, Anna, Jacob, and Mary Margaret Leffelman. The family lived in Portland, where Jacob, Sr. was a cabinet maker. Ralph’s mother died in 1918 in Portland; his father died in 1939. In 1930, 20-year-old Ralph Leffelman lived at the YMCA in Seattle, King County, Washington and worked as a messenger.

Ralph J. Leffelman married Mary Rose Pompeo on February 6, 1932 in Seattle. In 1940, Ralph worked as a truck driver. He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. He was 30 years old, 5’4” tall, and weighed 145 pounds. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a light complexion. He was employed by the Schwabacher Brothers Company in Seattle. A member of the ROTC, he was called up for service in the Army Medical Corps on August 28, 1942 in Seattle. He was married and had a high school education. He trained as a Flying Fortress radio operator at Biggs Field, a heavy bombardment training station near El Paso, Texas.

Sergeant Ralph J. Leffelman served with the 322nd Bomber Squadron, 91st Bomber Group. The 322nd was stationed at RAF Bassingbourne in Cambridgeshre, England. According to Missing Air Crew Report #13881, Sgt. Leffelman was the radio operator/gunner aboard B-17 #42-31333, nicknamed “Wee Willie.” On April 8, 1945, the crew of ten took off for a bombing mission of the locomotive repair facilities at the railroad marshalling yards in Stendhal, Germany.

The Missing Air Crew Report included this statement from a witness:

“We were flying over the target at 20,500 feet [6,248 meters] altitude when I observed aircraft B-17G, 42-31333 to receive a direct flak hit approximately between the bomb bay and #2 engine. The aircraft immediately started into a vertical dive. The fuselage was on fire and when it had dropped approximately 5,000 feet [1,524 meters] the left wing fell off. It continued down and when the fuselage was about 3,000 feet [914.4 meters] from the ground it exploded and then exploded again when it hit the ground. I saw no crew member leave the aircraft or parachutes open.”

Sergeant Ralph L. Leffelman and all his crewmates were killed in action on April 8, 1945 near Wischer, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Leffelman is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Margraten, Limburg, Netherlands. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters.

Ralph’s widow, Mary Rose Pompeo Leffelman, died of tuberculosis in 1955. Two of Ralph’s sisters, Bertha and Anna Leffelman, also died of the disease in their 20s.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project

(see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to

write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We

Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be

accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have

additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at

clock902@aol.com.

SBTSProject/Washington/King County

Sources:

Missing Air Crew Reports, WWII, https://www.fold3.com/image/29433690/42

WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, https://www.fold3.com/record/702878944/blank-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualty List, https://www.fold3.com/image/310763532?rec=299423716

WWII Army Enlistment Records, https://www.fold3.com/memorial/85001378/ralph-j-leffelman/sources

American Battle Monuments Commission, https://www.fold3.com/record/529874047/ralph-j-leffelman-american-battle-monuments-commission

The Seattle Star, 14 May 1945, Mon · Page 9, https://www.newspapers.com/image/773560955?utm_source=fold3.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Fold3&_gl=1*pgpv7t*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2NzY3LjU3LjAuMA..

1910 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/170440652:7884

1920 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/54823963:6061?_gl=1*1czdg3h*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2NzY3LjU3LjAuMA..

1930 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/111883265:6224?_gl=1*1okjap6*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2NzY3LjU3LjAuMA..

1940 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/66979104:2442?_gl=1*1okjap6*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2NzY3LjU3LjAuMA..

Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/10683:9170?tid=&pid=&queryId=ca231ff75ca9044f97185574537f7ddb&_phsrc=xOR63333&_phstart=successSource&_gl=1*1okjap6*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2NzY3LjU3LjAuMA..

The Seattle Sunday Times, Sunday, Oct 29, 1944, Seattle, WA,Page: 30, https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A127D718D1E33F961%40GB3NEWS-12A6000502103FD8%402431393-12A35D9832A81277%4029-12A35D9832A81277%40?h=2&fname=ralph%20j.%20&lname=leffelman&fullname=&rgfromDate=&rgtoDate=&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=&kwexc=&sid=jagfoukfijskwgwxvlgtmaizgkiyjwqu_wma-gateway012_1692724128782

Fuller, Robert E. “This Day in Aviation History,” https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/robert-e-fuller/

Washington, U.S., Death Index, 1940-2017, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4352145:6716?tid=&pid=&queryId=0d75d8a1f093f299d583c5fbca6a009b&_phsrc=xOR63343&_phstart=successSource&_gl=1*1k3ephd*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2OTUwLjI4LjAuMA..

Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854-2013, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/592684:2378?_gl=1*1k3ephd*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2OTUwLjI4LjAuMA..

World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/37006350:2238?_gl=1*1k3ephd*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5MjczNjE1OS40NzIuMS4xNjkyNzM2OTUwLjI4LjAuMA..

Ralph J Leffelman