OBITUARY INFORMATION FROM THE WALL OF FACES WEBSITE:
HONORED ON PANEL 29E, LINE 35 OF THE WALL
RALF IRVIN SAUNDERS
WALL NAME: RALF I SAUNDERS
PANEL / LINE: 29E/35
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/19/1946
CASUALTY PROVINCE: QUANG NAM
DATE OF CASUALTY: 11/06/1967
HOME OF RECORD: HOBART
COUNTY OF RECORD: Lake County
STATE: IN
BRANCH OF SERVICE: MARINE CORPS
RANK: CPL
This information and these pictures were obtained from: https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/45685/RALF-I-SAUNDERS/.
Ralf Irvin Saunders
Corporal
PERSONAL DATA
Home of Record: Hobart, IN
Date of birth: 05/19/1946
MILITARY DATA
Service: United States Marine Corps
Grade at loss: E4
Rank: Corporal
ID No: 2250220
MOS: 2533: Radio Telegraph Operator
Length Service: 01
Unit: H&S CO, 2ND BN, 5TH MARINES, 1ST MARDIV, III MAF
CASUALTY DATA
Start Tour: 06/28/1967
Incident Date: 11/06/1967
Casualty Date: 11/06/1967
Age at Loss: 21
Location: , South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire
URL: www.VirtualWall.org/ds/
ON THE WALL Panel 29E Line 035
Thomas Cook (1966)
Ralf Saunders was the best saxophonist I have ever heard. Though several of us were good, Ralf was better. I was honored to have been able to play in a quartet with him at state contest in 1964. Upstairs in a box I have a first place medal from that contest. The credit for that medal largely belongs to Ralf Saunders. He died in Viet Nam. It was a very sad day.
James (Jim) Garretty (1964)
Ralf and I roomed together at Foster Quad at Indiana University in 1964-65; he was quite a character, a good friend and we shared many a good time together.
Jim Garretty, Class of 1964
Terry Hiestand (1968)
My brother Ivan's best friend, what a fellow he was. God bless and keep you in heaven Ralf. This is a hero who paid the ultimate price......I love and miss you my friend, Terry
Ivan Hiestand (1964)
Ralf's dream was to be a Marine! We last spoke in the summer of 67 during a million to one encounter on China Beach in Vietnam as we were not in the same outfit.We spoke of all the things we wanted to do in life after the war and because he lived life to the fullest , he had a lot of aspirations to fulfill. It was not to be and he gave his life doing what he loved the best, being a Marine and being a part of something that was bigger than life itself. He was a good friend, a damn good Marine and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of him. I pray that his sacrifice was not in vain.