A Bird’s Eye View of Both World Wars
By Charles R. Lowell
Ralph Frederick Jerome
September 7, 1894, March 28, 1987
Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Frederick Jerome was born on September 7, 1894[1], in Jordan, Minnesota,[2] as the only child[3] to his father and mother, Ralph M. and Ida.[4] By 1900, Ralph and his family were living in Humboldt, Iowa,[5] where his father worked as a Depot Agent.[6] By 1910 and the age of 16, Ralph and his family had moved to Todd, Minnesota,[7] very close to where Ida was born.[8] It was in Todd that Ralph worked as a clerk at a jewelry store.[9]
109th Fighter Squadron F-51Ds
At the beginning of the Great War, Ralph married Louise M. Rewillard in Todd, Minnesota on June 16, 1914.[10] As the Great War continued on and the United States decided to enter the conflict, many men across the country registered for the draft, including Ralph. In the summer months of 1917,[11] Ralph filled out his registration card for the draft of the Great War. He noted that he has never served in the military nor has he had any experience with the military prior to his registration.[12] Ralph served in the United States Air Force 109th Squadron as a 2nd Lieutenant during the Great War[13] from 1917 to 1918, and would fill out his draft registration card for the Air Force again in the Second World War[14] as a Lieutenant-Colonel.[15] As a 2nd Lieutenant in the Great War, Ralph was responsible for supervising flights as a flight commander or assistant flight commander;[16] in other words, he was responsible for leading or assisting the leadership with the training of new pilots. It is also important to note that while Ralph was a 2nd Lieutenant, most of this rank were quickly promoted,[17] thus explaining how Ralph was on a trajectory to rise through the ranks. As a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Second World War, Ralph’s responsibilities were commanding squadrons, whether it be in the mission group, maintenance group, or medical group;[18] however, his responsibility would extend to more men, as it is the second highest rank outside of General.[19] He served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Second World War from July 26, 1942 to April 23, 1946.[20] Serving in both World Wars, Ralph had a perspective that not many veterans held, especially serving in the Air Force during both conflicts.
While the contributions of every nation’s Air Force during the Great War were small in relation to the Army Corps, the Air Force was a new and innovative method of warfare that was implemented during the later stages of the war. When the United States entered the Great War, no nation engaged in the conflict had a dedicated and independent military branch for their Air Force.[21] The United States had been experimenting prior to the war in implementing an Aeronautical Division into the Signal Corps,[22] but their implementation of a so-called “Air Force” did not advance much further. However, it wouldn’t take long for American pilots to find a way to serve in the war before the United States had officially declared. The Lafayette Flying Corps was a group of American pilots who decided to get involved in the war and serve alongside the French beginning in 1916,[23] but the Air Force wouldn’t incorporate them into their ranks until the later stages of the conflict. The arial component of the war was crucial in providing reconnaissance, artillery adjustment, counter-air operations, bombing and strafing runs against enemy ground support, and disrupting the enemies’ lines of communication.[24]
After the Great War, Ralph would return home to his wife, Louise, and begin their family in Todd, Minnesota.[25] Ralph returned only to soon thereafter relocate to Whitefish Bay,[26] a coastal town in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his wife and four children: Ralph aged 9, Barbara aged 7, Jerome aged 5, and Beverly aged 4.[27] Ralph had not attended college prior to the Great War; thus, he had his High School diploma to assist him in the job market.[28] In Whitefish, Ralph worked as a “Wage or Salary Worker”[29] as the Assistant Manager of a car dealership.[30] By 1940, Ralph had again relocated his family back to his home state to St. Louis Park, Hennepin, Minneapolis, Minnesota.[31] It was in Minnesota that Ralph continued his work as a “Wage or Salary Worker” as a Commercial Conservationist within the state government.[32] He would remain in the greater Minneapolis area for several decades until ultimately moving out to Denver, Colorado,[33] where he would live out the remainder of his life with his wife. Ralph passed on March 28, 1987.[34]
Footnotes ↓
[1] “Ralph F Jerome,” 1900 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, accessed May 24, 2021.
[2] “World War I Draft Registration Card for Ralph Frederick Jerome,” College Park, Maryland, n.d., accessed May 24, 2021.
[3] “Ralph F Jerome,” 1900 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, accessed May 24, 2021).
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] “Ralph M Jerome,” 1900 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, accessed May 24, 2021.
[7] “Ralph F Jerome,” 1910 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, accessed May 24, 2021.
[8] “Ida Callender,” Minnesota U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849 – 1905, accessed May 24, 2021.
[9] “Ralph F Jerome,” 1910 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, accessed May 24, 2021.
[10] “Ralph F Jerome,” Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850 – 2019, St. Paul, Minnesota, n.d., accessed May 24, 2021.
[11] “World War I Draft Registration Card for Ralph Frederick Jerome,” College Park, Maryland, n.d., accessed May 24, 2021.
[12] Ibid.
[13] “Ralph F. Jerome,” Select Military Registers 1862-1985, Corvallis, Oregon, n.d., accessed June 1, 2021.
[14] “World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 for Ralph Frederick Jerome,” College Park, Maryland, n.d., accessed May 24, 2021.
[15] Ibid.
[16] “Air Force Second Lieutenant,” Military Ranks, accessed June 1, 2021, https://www.military-ranks.org/air-force/second-lieutenant.
[17] Ibid.
[18] “Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel,” Military Ranks, accessed June 1, 2021, https://www.military-ranks.org/air-force/lieutenant-colonel.
[19] Ibid.
[20] “Ralph F Jerome,” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850 – 2010, Provo, Utah, 2011, accessed June 1, 2021.
[21] Christopher Bergs, “The History of the U.S. Air Service in World War I,” Mission Centenaire 14-18, April 10, 2017, https://www.centenaire.org/en/autour-de-la-grande-guerre/aviation/history-us-air-service-world-war-i.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Maurer Maurer, The U.S. Air Service in World War I, vol. 2 (Washington D.C., D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1978).
[25] “Ralph F Jerome,” Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850 – 2019, St. Paul, Minnesota, n.d., accessed May 24, 2021.
[26] “Ralph F Jerome,” 1930 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, accessed June 1, 2021.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Ibid.
[31] “Ralph F Jerome,” 1940 United States Federal Census, ancestry.com, accessed June 1, 2021.
[32] Ibid.
[33] “Ralph Jerome,” U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935 – 2014, ancestry.com, accessed June 1, 2021.
[34] “Ralph F Jerome,” U.S., Veterans’ Gravesites, ca. 1775 – 2019, ancestry.com, accessed June 1, 2021.
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