Ragsdale Raleigh Shedrick, Jr.

Name:

Raleigh Shedrick, Jr. Ragsdale

Rank:

First Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-714998

Unit:

360th Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group

Date of Death:

1945-04-06

State:

Texas

Cemetery:

Belvieu Cemetery, Rotan, Fisher County, Texas

Plot:

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

Raleigh Shedrick Ragsdale, Jr. was born on July 20, 1924, in Rotan, Texas. He was the son of Raleigh Shedrick Ragsdale and Gorda Geneva Polk Ragsdale.

Raleigh Shedrick, Jr. served in the 360th Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group, as a First Lieutenant and Pilot on the P-17 #44-15552 during World War II. He was Killed in Action on April 6, 1945, returning from a mission into southern Germany. His engine was running rough. When about 30 miles west of Koblenz, his engine quit, and he was seen to go into an overcast. He called and said that he was going to bail out. Being too low to bail out, he bellied in and was killed when the plane flipped on impact.

1Lt Ragsdale is now buried in the Belvieu Cemetery, Rotan, Fisher County, Texas, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com