Derickson, Ralph J. Jr.

RALPH J. DERICKSON Jr.

PRIVATE
U.S. ARMY 

Ralph Derickson Jr. was born on April 5th, 1925 in Geneva, Indiana. Ralph grew up in Jefferson Township in Adams County Geneva, where he attended school until the 8th grade. His parents were Ralph L. and Alpha (Brewster) Derickson. He grew up with two brothers (Lee, Paul), and two sisters (Elva, Ruby, and Pauline). Elva married SSgt. Floyd Beitler, brother of Francis Beitler who died as a Prisoner of War in the Philippines in May, 1942. The family lived near the Mt. Carmel Evangelical Church and Ralph Sr. drove a truck for the Karch Stone Quarry in New Corydon. Ralph Jr. worked at Nussbaum Novelty Company and at the Smith Brother's Furniture Store with his brother Lee.

The army sent Ralph to training around 1944 when he was eighteen. He enlisted into the army to help out our country in the war. Ralph would go on to train at Fort Eustis, Virginia and later at Fort Benning, GA for infantry training. Ralph was ranked a Private in the Army. He was placed in the 376th Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division and sent overseas on August 6, 1944 aboard the Queen Elizabeth from Camp Shanks New York. The 94th Infantry Division arrived on Utah Beach, France, on September 8th, 1944. They moved into Brittany to relieve the 6th Armored Division, which had captured 60,000 German troops. The division inflicted more than 2,700 deaths, and took 566 prisoners of war before they were relieved by the 66th Infantry Division. Moving east, the division relieved the 90th Infantry Division taking German positions. This division was nicknamed by the Germans, "Roosevelts Butchers", because they stacked so many dead bodies into houses and along the roads. On January 14th, the division was seizing Tettigen and Butzdorf, Germany, that day. Ralph was killed in action on January 15th, 1945 in Germany. Private Derickson was temporarily buried at the American Cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg and at the end of the war he was moved to Riverside Cemetery in Geneva, IN. 

After Derickson's death, the 94th Division and the 10th Armored Division secured the areas of Saarburg and Orscholz. From mid-June until the end of November, the division served the military government in Czechoslovakia. Upon completion of the war, the 94th Division was inactivated at Camp Rucker Alabama on February 9th, 1946. 

For his service and sacrifice, Private Derickson was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, WWll Victory Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the American Campaign Medal. Private Derickson also earned the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Information researched and collected by Jeremy Razo, 2015. 

SOURCES

Adams County, Indiana Veterans’ Grave Markers,Vol. 4, photographed and compiled by Kent and Gloria Schindler, July – August 2008

Admin. “376th Infantry Regiment.” The Army Historical Foundation, 28 Jan. 2015, armyhistory.org/376th-infantry-regiment/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.

Lone Sentry. G.I. Stories of the Ground, 2003. Web. 30 November 2015.

Derickson, Ann. Personal Interview. 27 November 2015.

American Legion Post No468, and Berne & Community Business Men, comps. Service Record: World War I and II - Book of Men and Women of Berne, Indiana and Community. Marceline: Walsworth Brothers, n.d. Print.

Indiana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.

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