Born in Medford, Oregon, the second son of Ralph E. Waldron, Sr. and Ora Mae Jones. Schooling in Medford, Marshfield and Klamath Falls, Oregon. Married Elizabeth Jane Stevie 28 September 1942 in Boston, Mass. Attended pilot school in Boston then flight school in Texas. Following the destruction of the trainer, from which he bailed out, Ralph was transferred to Moses Lake, Washington and trained as a waist gunner. After completing training he was shipped to England where his crew as assigned to B17F #42-3529



Damaged by flak en-route to the target at Klein Machow, Berlin on 6 Mar 1944 (the second daylight attack) the crew of B-17F #42-3529 baled out over Magdenburg before the a/c blew up and crashed SE of Bremen, GR. During his capture to subdue Ralph he was shot in the right knee. First taken to Frankfurt for questioning, Ralph was transferred to Stalag Luft 6 (Heydekrug) on 15 Mar 1944. Moved to Luft IV (Keifide) in July 1944 and put in "A" Lager, later transferred to "D" Lager. Left Luft IV in February 1945 - the "Black March" begins. Ralph escaped and reached British lines on 17 Apr 1945 near Bomke. He arrived in Britain on 2 May 1945 and returned to San Francisco, California on 11 May 1945.



POW