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Ralph Rousculp served in the Army of the United States from February 1943 to December 1945. His service with the 147th Engineer Combat Battalion included a year of extensive training in the U.S., additional preparation in England, and active service in Europe from Omaha Beach to Kassel, Germany. Ralph's European Theater ribbon includes an arrowhead for his participation in the invasion of Normandy (D+3) and 4 bronze service stars for the Normandy Campaign, the Central Europe Campaign, the Northern Europe Campaign, and the Rhineland Campaign. The story of his World War II experience is gleaned from a collection of more than 100 of his letters and photographs. Additional information related to the larger context is drawn from multiple secondary sources.
6 comments:
I don’t quite remember the first few times that I saw my father’s pictures from the war, but I do remember the feeling of excitement at the realization that it wasn’t just a story. The photos put him right in the thick of things, and I remember thinking that this needed to be gone over again. Of course, I still didn’t get answers to my questions.
But then, I grew, and left Columbus on my own adventures. The next time, I think, that I saw them was, sadly, after his passing. This was the first time I was confronted by the whole picture, so to speak. The number of pictures is, at the same time fascinating and almost overwhelming. But I do remember this. One of the feelings that came through clearly while we worked through the pictures was this; I wanted to tell everyone I knew about my dad’s time in war. Yes, there was some bragging involved, I guess, but mostly to show how proud I was of him.
Well, now I’d like to tell everyone how proud I am of my brothers. Ed, because of all the hard work and love he has put into this project, or passion, or calling. Ken, because of everything he has done for family, showing a giving spirit as big as the sky. I see Dad in both of you.
I love you guys. Gary.
Gary, thanks so much. We'll have more stories and photos for sure, but I think another missing dimension is a drawing/painting from you. You as an artist can capture the inner, as well as the outer man. Sometimes I try to imagine Dad in the situations I'm reading about in the letters. Could you do a picture or two?
-Ed-
Great site, Ed! An entire generation of memories would be slowly disappearing without blogs, sites etc. like yours.
Well done,
Girl on the Front Porch
My Father served in the 147th Eng Battalion as well, he was in Company C and did and went the same places your father did. My Dad is now 93 years old and remembers just about everything that happened in his experiences with the 147th Battalion.
Your blog brought back some memories about my father as he served in the U.S. Army during WWII. The letter with the picture of the sterling silver marksmanship award reminds me of my dad's memorabilia from that distant time. I took a sheet of postage stamps commemorating the battles of WWII accompanying that same sterling silver medal and had them framed as a gift to my father and his service to our country. He has since passed on but the memories are still there.
Thanks so much for sharing!
John
What a great idea to combine the commemorative stamps with your Dad's memorabilia, John. Thanks for sharing.
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