I
saw the obituary notice in the Feb. 6 edition of Chadds Ford Live saying he had
passed the day before at the age of 88. It saddened, but did not surprise me.
The love of his life had passed a few years before, and age and a broken heart
had taken its toll.

Ralph
Wittle lived in Chadds Ford but had spent the last year or so of his life in a
beautiful assisted- living facility in Glen Mills. I visited him there on
occasion, and sent him birthday and Christmas cards.

I
used to spend many an hour on the front porch of the Sanderson Museum talking
with him, or I might say listening to him. To say he had the gift of gab was an
understatement. He could segue-way from one subject to the next as smooth as
silk without so much as coming up for air.

He
was born on Aug. 30, 1922, northwest of Lancaster, in the little town of
Florin, the youngest of 15 children.

At
the age of 20 he was inducted into the Army in September 1942 and sent overseas
as part of the Third battalion, 407th Regiment and 102nd Infantry Division,
landing in Cherbourg, France and was all too soon sent to the front as part of
a forward party.

In
October 1944, his unit was assigned to the area along the Netherlands - Germany
border to participate in the Rhineland and Central Europe campaigns.

Advancing
in rank to battalion sergeant major, his unit was positioned on the Elbe River
when the war ended in May 1945. He was later transferred to the 15th Tank Battalion,
stationed in Rothenburg, Germany’s ancient walled city.

He
was released from the Army in February 1946.

During
the European campaign, his division had taken more prisoners than any other
unit.

For
his actions during combat operations he earned the Combat Infantry Badge and
was awarded the Bronze Star Medal of Valor, Good Conduct Medal, American
Service Medal, EAME Service Medal with two bronze stars, the Victory Medal and
the Occupation Medal.

He
would often tell me of the German lady who would do his men’s laundry in
exchange for cartons of cigarettes and how beautifully their uniforms were
always washed and folded. She would take the cigarettes to town to trade for
food for her family.

But
often during our front porch talks, Ralph would stop as his eyes became red
with tears, thinking of the time when Germans gunned down two young Dutch boys
who had brought his men apples.

One
day he gave me a small photo of him taken in Germany in December of 1944. He said they had finally found a place
to stop near some bombed-out farm buildings. They had been on the march for
several weeks, and in that time he had not been able to shower or change
clothes.

I
held that photo in my hand as I sat in the Presbyterian Church of Kennett
Square for his memorial service on Feb. 12, but this time, the tears were mine.
The prayer card printed up by the funeral home featured his portrait painted by
Chadds Ford artist Karl J. Kuerner.

This
past Memorial Day weekend, I spent some time thinking of my friend…

Ralph
Wittle of Chadds Ford – American hero.

*
Some facts in this story were taken from a 2007 interview by Chip Lohmann of
the Sanderson Museum.