Ralph Linwood Moore was born on November 27, 1922, in Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Mark C. Moore and Grace E. Yocum Moore. He was married to Eleanor Elizabeth Olmstead Moore. He graduated from West Chester High School in 1940. He served in the 837th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner in B-17G #44-8276 during World War II.

On March 18, 1945, on their twenty-fourth mission, B-17G #44-8276 participated in a mission to bomb railroad marshalling yards in Berlin, Germany, but was severely damaged by German anti-aircraft fire just before the bomb run, forcing it to abandon the mission. As the aircraft became uncontrollable, the pilot attempted to reach a safer landing area; however, the crew was compelled to bail out about ten miles east of the Oder River near Massin, Germany (now Mosina, Poland). During the descent, Technical Sergeants Sunberg and Leonard A. Marino were killed when Russian Yak fighters strafed the parachuting airmen, while the remaining crew members landed safely.

SSgt Moore successfully bailed out and survived, later being recovered and briefly detained by Soviet forces before returning to Allied control. After the war, he co-owned Moore’s Eagle Garage, a family business established by their father in 1919. They operated the business together with his brother until Ralph’s retirement in 1984. He was an active member and past president of the Eagle Glenmoore Lions Club and also volunteered at the VA Hospital in Spring City. He was also a member of the distinguished Caterpillar Club, an organization for individuals whose lives were saved by parachuting from an aircraft in an emergency. He died on May 14, 2007, and is now buried in the Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery, Grove, Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR)