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Remember...Ralph Henry McKown
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Ralph Henry McKown was born on February 10, 1891, in Ripley, West Virginia. One of eight children born to Perry E. and Emma King McKown, Ralph had a twin sister, Ruth.
Ralph attended school in Evans, Jackson County. Before entering the service, he was employed as a streetcar conductor in Akron, Ohio, by Northern Ohio Traction and Light Freight Motor.
| Ralph enlisted in the Army on September 17, 1917, in Akron and received his training at Camp Sherman in Chillicothe, Ohio. After arriving overseas, he was assigned to Co. I, Eleventh Infantry, Fifth Division. |  Certificate of Honor, State of Ohio |
 U.S. Army Memorial |
According to his platoon leader 1st Lt. Frank Hancock, during the Battle of St. Mihiel, "We were in the assault battalion on September 12, 1918, and somewhere near the Ge[r]mans' second line trench Corporal McKown was seen to fall." After the battle his body was not found and he was listed as missing. |
| Later, Corporal Ralph H. McKown's body was located and returned to the United States. He was buried in the family cemetery in Jackson County. |  Certificate of Appreciation, State of West Virginia |
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
