385th Regimental Officer Wounded in Luftwaffe Strafing

1LT Ralph S. S-E-N-D-E-R-S was born in Oregon in 1917 and upon graduating from college, entered the family insurance business. He commissioned as an Infantry Officer in in 1943 and attended the Motor Transportation Officer course immediately after. He stayed at Fort Benning as an instructor in the automotive section of the academic department. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in April of 1944 and joined the 385th Regimental Headquarters prior to the unit departing for England in November of 1944. He served honorably in the ETO until April when he was wounded 30 miles west of Leipzig, Germany. The 76th Division was getting ready to fall in behind a tank column to advance and Lt S-E-N-D-E-R-S was sent up ahead to determine when to move. He was sitting on a tank writing a letter to his wife when an American plane appeared. The plane was "chasing" a German fighter when suddenly it made a dive at the tank column and opened fire. The concussion from a 20mm shell threw Lt S-E-N-D-E-R-S from the tank and he crawled 25 yards to a wall where he was picked up by the medics. He was not his by the shell fragments but the concussion injured his eye which required considerable treatment in several hospitals. The American plane that performed the straffing run was shot down shortly after and was manned by a German Luftwaffe pilot.

He lived out his final days in Santa Monica, California and passed away in 2007.