Pvt. Ralph W. McCleerey

Pvt. Ralph W. McCleerey Killed in Action in France; Message Received By Wife Friday; Inducted in March

Thon Book No. 4

A message from the War Department last Friday brought grief to another young wife, when Mrs. Mary McCleerey received news that her husband Pvt. Ralph W. McCleerey, son of Mr. and Mrs. John W. McCleerey of this city had been killed in action in France on November 26th. The message was brief and contained no details.

Private McCleerey was serving with United States infantry forces but the name of his outfit was not revealed in the message. He had been overseas since October 12th of this year.

McCleerey was inducted from Big Timber, Mont. on March 22nd where he and his wife and small son, David had lived for some time. He was given his training at Camp Roberts, Calif. and this completed, he was forwarded to Ft. G. Meade, Md., for embarkation overseas. His last visit here was in September, when he was given a short furlough.

Besides his wife and son David, 5, Private McCleerey is survived by his parents, two brothers also in the service, Warrant Officer Earl McCleerey, who is serving somewhere in the South Pacific with the Navy; Sgt. Owen McCleerey, now with an engineers corps in New Guinea; another brother, Floyd and two sisters, Mrs. Maynard Hoy and Miss Wilma McCleerey all of Lusk.

Thon Book No. 4
Pvt. Ralph McCleerey Killed on West Front

The terrible price of war was brought home to another Lusk family on Friday, when Mrs. Mary McCleerey received word that her husband, Private Ralph W. McCleerey, had been killed in France on November 26th.

No details have been received and the young soldier had only sailed from the United States about the 12th of October, so he had been there a very short time.

Pvt. McCleeery and his wife and 5-year-old son, David, resided at Big Timber, Mont., until he was sent overseas, then his family moved to Lusk to be with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John W. McCleerey. Others who survive him are a brother, Floyd, and two sisters, Miss Wilma McCleerey, and Mrs. Maynard Hoy, all of Lusk, and two brothers in the service, Earl, who is in the Navy and is now in the Marianas, and Owen, who is in New Guinea.

Pvt. McCleerey was with the infantry.

The Lusk Herald, September 30,1948
Pvt. McCleerey Body Laid to Rest in Arlington Cemetery

The beautiful Arlington Cemetery in Virginia is the final resting place of Pvt. Ralph McCleerey whose remains were recently returned to the United States from France.

Pvt. McCleerey was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John McCleerey of Lusk. None of the relatives were able to attend the services at Arlington, which were held on Sep, 22, with full military honors.

Private McCleerey was inducted into the U. S. Army at Big Timber, Montana, in March 1944, and received his training at Camp Roberts, Calif.

He visited his wife and son, also his parents and other relatives in Lusk, in September of the same year, as he was en route to Fort Meade, Maryland, from which point he embarked for the European theatre.

He was then sent to France, where he was in the infantry, and was killed in action on November 26, 1944.

He is survived by his widow and small son, David, then of Lusk, but now of Big Timber, Mont.; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John McCleerey, Lusk; three brothers, Earl, in the U.S. Naval service at Alameda, Calif.; Owen of Big Timber, Mont.; Floyd of Lusk; and two sisters, Mrs. maynared Hoy of Thermoplois, Wyo., and Mrs. Albert Hoy of Lusk.

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