RALPH R. BAURICHTER, 1LT, USAF

Ralph Baurichter '51

Date of birth: September 15, 1927

Date of death: July 10, 1953

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1951 Lucky Bag:

Ralph Russell Baurichter

Clarksville, Arkansas

From the home of the Alberta Peach via the regular Navy, Ralph slipped through the door when Navy Tech opened its portals to NAPS . . . not an ardent dragging fan, yet always willing to give the fairer sex a break . . . thinks letter writing is a curse on mankind . . . will never tire of Scheherazade . . . football and lacrosse are his main athletic contributions . . . nothing spectacular, but always holding up his end of the line. . . Barr has a habit of hounding his wives about Sunday sweep-down . . . usually ends up behind the broom himself . . . will endorse a few good practical jokes . . . even on himself . . . thinks flying is the best form of duty and is anticipating plenty of hours jockeying a fighter around the sky ... an Ozark lad with a big smile you'll be hearing more of as time goes by.

Ralph Russell Baurichter

Clarksville, Arkansas

From the home of the Alberta Peach via the regular Navy, Ralph slipped through the door when Navy Tech opened its portals to NAPS . . . not an ardent dragging fan, yet always willing to give the fairer sex a break . . . thinks letter writing is a curse on mankind . . . will never tire of Scheherazade . . . football and lacrosse are his main athletic contributions . . . nothing spectacular, but always holding up his end of the line. . . Barr has a habit of hounding his wives about Sunday sweep-down . . . usually ends up behind the broom himself . . . will endorse a few good practical jokes . . . even on himself . . . thinks flying is the best form of duty and is anticipating plenty of hours jockeying a fighter around the sky ... an Ozark lad with a big smile you'll be hearing more of as time goes by.

Loss

Ralph was lost on July 10, 1953 when his plane crashed near Savannah, Georgia.

From Honor States:

[He was co-pilot of an] aerial refueling tanker KB-29P Superfortress #44-83985 during a routine training flight. They had just taken off from Hunter AFB in Georgia when they crashed "with terrific force" in a marshy swamp about seven miles away. There were no survivors. Official reports suggest the cause was a combination of an engine malfunction and pilot error.

All ten men aboard were killed.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Ralph’s plane was on a training mission from Hunter Air Force Base in Georgia. He was in the 2nd Air Refueling Squadron, 2nd Bomb Wing.
Ralph attended St. Peter’s Lutheran School and then Columbus High School through his junior year 1944 in Indiana. He played football and was a member of Hi-Y.
The family moved to Clarksville, Arkansas. After graduating from high school there, he attended the College of the Ozarks (now the University of the Ozarks.)
He enlisted in the Navy on January 1, 1946, and later attended the Naval Academy.

From Find A Grave:

Columbus Evening Republican
July 15, 1953
BAURICHTER'S BODY IS FOUND
Funeral Services Saturday At Baltimore for Former Local Man.
The body of a former Columbus man, Ralph Baurichter, was recovered Monday from the wreckage of a B-29 bomber which crashed last week near Savannah, Ga. Funeral services and burial will be held Saturday at Baltimore, Md.
Baurichter had previously been listed as "missing" along with nine other air force men. There were no survivors. Wreckage of the plane was located Saturday by helicopter.
He and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Baurichter, moved to Arkansas from here about 10 years ago. The parents now live in Clarksville, Ark.
Also surviving is the widow, the former Miss Nancy Callahan of Baltimore, and his grandfather, John Steinker of Clarksville.
He attended Columbus high school for two years. An aunt, Mrs. Eleanor Baurichter, lives at 723 Third Street.

He is buried in Maryland.