Gray, William Ralph

1915 - 1944  (29 years)

• Name	Gray, William Ralph
  Birth	18 Jul 1915	Illinois   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	GRAY.W004
  _FGRAVE	24196291
  Funeral	23 Jan 1949	Clay City Baptist Church, Clay City, Clay County, Illinois   [1]
  		Funeral Card, Gray, William R. (1915-1944) Killed in Action in France November 19, 1944, remains returned for burial January 23, 1949. Contributed by Leona Mae McDowell
  Military Service	World War II, Private, Company E, 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, United States Army  [2, 7, 8]
  	Private with Company E, 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division. Entered combat on October 12, 1944 and was killed in action on November 19, 1944 in vicinity of Wuiss, Moselle, France. Buried with military honors at Clay City Cemetery in Clay City, Illinois. This information has been posted on the National World War II Memorial's Registry of Remembrances website by Robert Medley Gatewood. It is entered here with his permission. Source: https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/honoree-plaque/?honoree_id=1903020 His service number was 36776941
  		World War II Casualties, Clay County Illinois
  		Clay City Veterans Memorial, Mills Park, Clay City, Illinois (East Side) Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
  		Clay City Veterans Memorial, Mills Park, Clay City, Illinois (East Side, Right Panel) Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
  		World War II Honoree, Gray, William Ralph (1915-1944)
  		United States of America Flag, 48 Stars (1912-1959) In 1912, two stars were added to the United States flag, representing Arizona and New Mexico, bringing the total number of stars to 48. They were arranged in six rows of eight stars each. American fighting men would fight under this flag during four wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. (In 1959,…
  		United States Army
  		World War II (1939-1945)
  		26th Infantry Division ("Yankee Division"), United States Army
  		26th Infantry Division ("Yankee Division"), United States Army
  		104th Infantry Regiment (United States)
  		Military Service Ribbons, Gray, William Ralph (1915-1944) Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
  		Purple Heart Medal, United States Military
  		Purple Heart Medal, United States Military
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007 On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. …
  		No Rank Insignia Applies to Private, Airman, Seaman Recruit
  		United States Army Enlisted Rank Insignia
  Death	19 Nov 1944	Wuisse, Moselle, France   [1, 2, 9]
  	Cause: Killed in Action
  	killed in the vicinity Wuiss, Moselle, France Source: http://www.wwiimemorial.com
  		Wuisse
  Burial	23 Jan 1949	Clay City Cemetery, Clay City, Clay County, Illinois   [1, 2]
  	Ralph's remains were returned to the United States for burial after the end of the war.
  		Burial Flag, United States Military Veterans
  		Headstone, Gray, William R. Displayed with permission of Lady in Black
  		Headstone, Gray, William R.
  		Headstone, Gray, William R. Contributed by Lynn Wilder
  Person ID	I152	Carl Wayne Gray Research | Gray - Yauch William Gray and Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Yauch Descendants, Hasler - ? Mr. Hasler and ? Descendants, Jauch - Birk Christian 'Heitl' Jauch and Maria Birk Descendants, Jauch - Hasler Jacob Jauch and Margaret 'Margret' Hasler Descendants, Lents - Seal Jacob Lents and Elizabeth 'Betsy' Seal Descendants
  Last Modified	6 Jun 2023

  
  

  Father	Gray, Henry Lewis,   b. 24 Apr 1894, Noble, Richland County, Illinois d. 24 Sep 1968, Clay City, Clay County, Illinois (Age 74 years)
  Mother	Payne, Maude May,   b. 3 Dec 1895, Martin County, Indiana d. 29 May 1983, Olney, Richland County, Illinois (Age 87 years)
  Marriage	26 Sep 1914	Noble, Richland County, Illinois   [3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12]
  Age at Marriage	He : 20 years and 5 months - She : 18 years and 9 months.
  Family ID	F25	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Death - Cause: Killed in Action - 19 Nov 1944 - Wuisse, Moselle, France  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S289] Funeral Card, Gray, Pvt. William R., none. (Reliability: 2). [S290] https://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Gray, William R., (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24196291/william-ralph-gray), none. (Reliability: 2). [S50] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census, Clay City, Illinois, (District 13-4) (Township), image 20, page 10b, (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/M-T0627-00769-00087?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.as) (Reliability: 3). [S51] Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census, Clay City, Clay County, Illinois, (District 0003) (Village), image 10, page 5b, (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6224/4584337_00604?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.aspx%3fd), none. (Reliability: 2). [S15] Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census, Clay City, Illinois, (District 0003) (Village), image 23, page 12a, (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/6061/4300174_00630?pid=14757672&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll) (Reliability: 2). [S53] Steve and Betty Stanford, e-mail to Carl W. Gray, "Gray Family Tree", 27 Jan 2019, 5:37pm, (Steve and Betty Stanford, e-mail to Carl W. Gray, "Gray Family Tree", 27 Jan 2019, 5:37pm), none. (Reliability: 2). [S15404] Robert Medley Gatewood, Brochure, Flora, Illinois, World War II Veterans Memorial, page #4, (https://genealogy.carlwgray.com/showmedia.php?mediaID=18791) (Reliability: 2). [S14716] World War II Honoree, William Ralph Gray, (https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/honoree-plaque/?honoree_id=1903020) (Reliability: 2). [S14717] https://www.wwiimemorial.com/, National Archives & Records Administration, (https://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque_wardept.aspx?honoreeID=1040619) (Reliability: 2). [S54] Obituary, Gray, Maude, none. [S14351] Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1763-1900, Marriage Index, Gray, Henry and Payne, Maude M., Volume 004, Page 0292, License #00000120, (http://www.ilsos.gov/isavital/marriageSearch.do) (Reliability: 2). [S14352] Richland County Genealogical and Historical Society (Olney, Richland County, Illinois), Richland County Marriages, 1840-1915, Grooms Book, Page #132, (Richland County Genealogical and Historical Society (Olney, Richland County, Illinois), November 15, 1993), Page #132, none. (Reliability: 3).