Garden Bench | Brigadier General Ralph Murray Jerome, 90, Of Peachtree City
Brigadier General Ralph Murray Jerome had retired from the blue skies of his airplanes, the sparkling sea of his yachts, the ski slopes of Colorado and the golf courses of Peachtree City, Ga., and on Aug. 7, 2011, in Peachtree City, Fayette County, Ga., he retired a final time to heaven.
Ralph Murray Jerome, born March 2, 1921, in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minn., to Ralph Frederick and Helen Caroline (Schweizer) Jerome. This boy would become a man of great intellect, educated, opinionated, and hardheaded too, but the qualities that outweighed them all was his compassion and ability to love.
Ralph Murray Jerome was by far one of the most gracious gentlemen to travel through our time. He thrived on learning and understanding the world around him. He attended the University of Minnesota, the War College, and many other higher learning institutions in search of truth and understanding. In doing so, he definitely formed his own opinions, and it was difficult at times to change his mind, but the most fascinating concept for his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to learn was he was always right! Luceille may not always have agreed to this, but the love she felt for him gave her the ability to smile and say, “Whatever you say, dear,” then shake her head and smile.
Ralph grew up in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. area and went to St. Louis Park High School and the University of Minnesota.
In 1941, anxious to get involved with flying, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Corp in Canada and became a pilot. After the United States joined WWII, as a true patriotic American, he returned to the U.S. and joined the United States Army Air Corp. A troop train had traveled from one end of Canada to the other picking up the best of the RCAF American boys, including Ralph, and brought them back to the states to begin building the United States Army Air Corp.
Ralph, while stationed in Saskatchewan, Canada, met Luceille Eleanor McConnell, they fell madly in love in just one week, and he sent for her to join him one week after arriving back in the United States. They were married, Sept. 1, 1942, in Evanston, Wyo. For the next three years everything they owned could fit in the back of their car as they traveled from one posting to another. Ralph was stationed in several states (California, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C.) during these years as a flying instructor. Later, Ralph went to England to become part of the 8th Air Force, 3rd Squadron, 467th Group as senior command pilot for B-24′s on heavy bombardment missions. Both Ralph M. and his father, Ralph F., were one of the few father-son pilots on active flying status at the same time during WWII.
After WWII, he did some commercial flying for Chesapeake Airlines, Inc. in Salisbury, Md. Then, in 1949, he was asked to become the Commander of the 179th Fighter Squadron, forerunner of the 148th Fighter Wing, at the Air National Guard Base in Duluth, Minn. In 1958, Ralph was advanced to Commander of the 133rd Fighter Group and served in that capacity until 1960, when he was then appointed Minnesota’s first National Guard Chief of Staff for Air. All components of the state’s Air Guard units were then under his jurisdiction. These included the 133rd Air Transport Wing and its’ component units, headquartered in the Twin Cities of Minnesota and St. Paul and the 179th Fighter Interceptor Squadron based in Duluth. In 1951, he and his flying squadron were called to active duty to serve from Japan during the Korean War. The squadron was also called to active duty during the Bay of Pigs, Berlin Crisis, and Cuban Missile Crisis. Ralph retired from the service to his country in 1968.
In 1968, Ralph and Luceille sold their house, cars, had a large garage sale and left Minn. through the Great Lakes, down the inland waterway to Florida and over to the Bahamas on their yacht. They lived on their boat and traveled around the Bahama Islands for several years. They used a small motorcycle for transportation, when on land, to go grocery shopping or to the laundromat. When they decided it was time for another change they moved to Colorado and bought 922 acres along with Ralph’s brother, Jerome Louis (Jerry) Jerome, and began developing the land for a subdivision called Pawnee Hills
Click here to view rest of article from original site
|
|
|
