Ralph W. Goodyear was born on May 4, 1920 in Wisconsin. SSgt. Goodyear enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Corps in January 12, 1941. After several months of rigid training he was assigned to the Air Corps Transport Command and his duties took him on missions to nearly every country in the world.

In June 1944 he transferred to the United States Army Air Corps, fulfilling a wish he had cherished for many years. After a visit to the U.S., he was sent to India where he took part in several missions as a Radio Operator on a bomber. He was Killed in Action on May 12, 1945 in India and is now buried in the McHenry County Memorial Park, Woodstock, McHenry County, Illinois, USA.

Ralph was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com