Military Service to Country (2026)

1st Lieutenant Ralph W. Dennings

Ralph William Dennings was born on May 1, 1922, the seventh of ten children, to John and Nina Dennings. He attended St. Marys Memorial High School where he served as class Secretary and was active in Hi-Y, the Debate Club, Basketball, and Football where he played left halfback and was Captain of the Roughrider football team. He graduated in 1940. 

Ralph worked at St. Marys Manufacturing Company before enlisting in the Army Air Force on September 8, 1942. He reported for active duty on January 16, 1943. He completed Basic Training at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, and was then assigned to Lewis Field in Hays, Kansas, as part of the 83rd College Training Detachment. He graduated from Gunnery School at Harlingen Army Air Field, Class 44-4, on November 13, 1943, with an expert medal in Aerial Gunnery. Dennings then completed Bombardier School in Childress, Texas, on March 18, 1944, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. 

On March 6, 1944, 2nd Lieutenant Dennings was ordered to report to the 306th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron, Army Air Field, El Paso, Texas. There he was assigned to a B-24 Liberator crew. Over the next two months, the crew flew 38 different days for a total of 154 hours and 25 minutes of flying time. They practiced bombing, aerial gunnery, formation flying, and night flying. Ralph’s role as Bombardier also included serving as the Qualified Nose Turret Gunner, the Airplane Armament Officer and the back-up for Navigation. On June 1, 1944, he received orders to deploy to an undisclosed “Overseas Destination.” Shortly before being deployed, he married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Valentine. 

On June 2, 1944, Ralph and his crew flew to Maine on a B-24 Liberator, and then to Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland. In July 1944, they arrived by train at Attlebridge, their base in East Anglia, England. There, they would remain for the rest of their deployment assigned to the 466th Bombardment Group (H), known as the “Flying Deck.” They were designated as Crew 731. In their first week at Attlebridge, Crew 731 completed seven combat missions in eight days, often with little to no sleep, encountering intense flak and sustaining battle damage on every run. The crews they shared a barrack with were shot down, killed in combat, or taken prisoners of war. In their first month, Lt. Dennings and Crew 731 were alerted every day except one, completing 15 combat missions over enemy occupied France, Belgium, and Germany. 2nd Lieutenant Dennings was awarded the Air Medal for meritorious achievement, and the 466th Bomb Group was awarded a Unit Citation and a Letter of Commendation from Lt. General J.H. Doolittle for their distinguished and outstanding performance of duty during this time.

Lt. Dennings was awarded three Oak Leaf Clusters to his Air Medal in August 1944 and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant a month later. He continued flying combat missions over enemy occupied territory. In November 1944, he was assigned to the Anderson B-24 Liberator crew where he completed the last of his 35 combat missions on Christmas Day, December 25, 1944.  He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement as a Bombardier of a B-24 plane. Ralph was honorably discharged on November 12, 1945, having flown a total of 650 hours, 235 of which were combat hours. The 466th Bomb Group flew more than 5,600 sorties in 231 missions over France, Germany and Belgium during World War II. 

Ralph returned to St. Marys where he worked at Goodyear Tire & Rubber until he retired. After he and his wife, Dorothy, both passed, their children discovered approximately 700 letters that the couple had exchanged during World War II. The letters provide a unique, first- hand account of his service as well as a loving account of their courtship and marriage.

For his exemplary and outstanding service as a Bombardier on a B-24 Liberator, for flying 35 combat missions over enemy occupied territory including 235 combat hours, and for being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the European African Middle Eastern Medal with four battle stars, and the World War II Victory Medal, 1st Lieutenant Ralph W. Dennings is inducted into the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame for Military Service to Country.