Our Family Heroes

Paul Roger “Gus” Downard (1921-2013)

On December 15, 1941, Gus enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, eight days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Gus served in the Pacific Theatre as a machine gunner and was involved in many battles in the Pacific, including:

Guadalcanal—Solomon Islands Campaign (Aug. 1942-Feb. 1943) 1,769 Marines died

Battle of Tarawa—(Nov. 20-23, 1943) 997 Marines died

Tinian—Marian Islands (July 24, 1944-Aug. 1, 1944) 384 Marines killed

Iwo Jima—(Feb.19-March 26, 1945) Almost 7,000 Marines died—Roughly one out of every three Marines in Iwo Jima

Gus was severely wounded on Tinian. Believing that a shell or bomb never hits the same space twice, Gus and two of his brothers-in-arms dove into a crater during a bombardment. The crater was hit twice, killing the other two soldiers and throwing Gus against a palm tree, severely injuring him. After recovering, he was shipped back into battle.

Gus received a Purple Hart, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Pacific Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars, a Marine Corp Good Conduct Medal, and a WWII Victor Medal for his service and bravery. He was discharged after having served two years, two months and 29 days.

Ralph Richard Howard (1921-1996)

Ralph enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in October 1942. Assigned to a B-24 bomber, Ralph was the ball turret gunner and crews armorer. Due to a shortage of trained bombadiers, and having a crew of nine rather than the normal 10 men, he also became responsible for the targeting of bomb drops. Ralph and his crew flew bombing missions over Italy and southern Europe until April 11, 1945, when their aircraft was hit and they were forced to bail out about 20 miles south of Modena, Italy. The nine-man crew escaped from behind enemy lines with the help of the Italian people. This was the end of his time in a B-24 as airmen that had been behind enemy lines were not allowed to fly combat missions again.

Ralph received the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and three Bronze Stars for his service. He also received the Winged Boot, indicating that he had been shot down and successfully evaded the enemy.

Ralph Casper Seamon (1917-1945)

In June 1941, Ralph enlisted in the United States Army. He trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He was then sent to serve in the Pacific Theatre. On January 17, 1945, Ralph was killed during the battle of Luzon at the age of 27. He was buried in a military cemetery in the Philippines until his body was returned to the United States in July of 1948. In August, his body was transported by the Rock Island Railroad with military escort to his hometown of Union, Missouri where he was buried with military honors in the Union Cemetary. Ralph was mourned by his father, nine brothers, five sisters, nieces and nephews.