Ragland, Dester R.

1907 -

• Name	Ragland, Dester R.
  Birth	30 Apr 1907	Mississippi   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	RAGL.D001
  _FGRAVE	142483691
  Military Service	World War II, Private First Class, Company C, 716th Railway Operations Battalion, United States Army  [2]
  	Entered active service as a draftee on November 30, 1943 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Selected for the Transportation Corps because of his civilian occupation as Railway Switchman, completed basic training, and qualified in the military occupatioonal specialty of Railway Conductor (058). Departed the Continental U.S. on August 11, 1944 bound for the European Theater of Operations. Assigned to and fought with Company C, 716th Railway Operations Battalion in the Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe Campaigns. Earned the Meritorious Unit Award, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze battle stars, and the WWII Victory Medal. Honorable discharged as a Private First Class on November 27, 1945 at the Separation Center, Camp Grant, 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=2125336
  		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
  		Railroaders in Olive Drab: The Military Railway Service in World War II
  		Private First Class, United States Army and United States Army Air Fores (Sep 1942-Aug 1948)
  		United States Army Enlisted Rank Insignia
  		Meritorious Unit Commendation, United States Army See "Histories" for more information
  		Meritorious Unit Commendation, United States Armed Forces
  		Military Service Ribbons, Ragland, Dester Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
  		Good Conduct Medal, United States Army
  		Good Conduct Medal, United States Armed Forces
  		American Campaign Medal, United States Military
  		American Campaign Medal, United States
  		European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, United States
  		European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, United States
  		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
  		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
  		World War II (1939-1945)
  		European Theater of World War II
  		Military Railway Service, United States Army
  		Military Railway Units
  		American Railway Operation Battalions in European Theater of Operations During World War II To fully read PDF documents, it is advisable to install a PDF reader extension in your browser.
  		716th Railway Operating Battalion, United States Army
  		Fort Sheridan, Illinois
  		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. …
  		World War II Honoree, Ragland, Dexter
  Burial	Greenwood Memorial Park and Mausoleum, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
  	Plot: Live Oak
  Person ID	I26796	Carl Wayne Gray Research
  Last Modified	14 Apr 2024

  
  

  Family 1	?, Tressie,   b. 1911, Texas
  Family ID	F18476	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2023

  
  

  Family ID

  F19456

  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 30 Apr 1907 - Mississippi Burial - - Greenwood Memorial Park and Mausoleum, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S3936] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census, Clay City, Clay County, Illinois, (District 13-3) (Village), image 11, page 5b, (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/M-T0627-00769-00053?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.asp) (Reliability: 3). [S7533] https://www.wwiimemorial.com/, World War II Honoree, Dexter Ragland, (https://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=2125336) (Reliability: 2).