When Ralph Lee Dean was born on August 21, 1920, his father, Benjaman, was 26 and his mother, Hallie, was 28. He had one brother. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a First Lieutenant. He entered the service in Kentucky. On 4 October 1943, he was piloting the P-47D serial no. 42-74677 when his aircraft sustained heavy damage from German fighters while on a mission to escort bombers attacking at Frankfurt, Germany. 1LT Dean managed to fly the crippled aircraft back to England and crash-landed at Monkton, Kent, UK. He was severely injured in the crash and died in hospital a few hours later. He is now buried in Berea Cemetery, Berea, Madison County, Kentucky, USA.