(courtesy of Dianne Wood)Grave marker for Frank
M. Ramirez in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Newnan (Coweta county), Georgia.
Born in Mexico as Francisco Ramirez,
he emigrated on foot with his parents at the border crossing in
Nogales (Santa Cruz), AZ on 3 August 1918. The family settled in
northern California.
Francisco enlisted in the
Army at Sacramento, CA on 4 January 1943 under the name of Frank M.
Ramirez.
Pvt
Ramirez went through parachute training at Ft Benning, GA and was
assigned to the Medical Detachment, 542nd Parachute Infantry Regiment.
He filed a Petition For Naturalization in the District Court, Columbus,
GA on 13 January 1944.
Pvt Ramirez was shipped to England and on 2 May 1944 was transferred
from the 8th Replacement Depot to the Medical Detachment of the 508th
PIR in Nottingham, England.
The 508th jumped into Normandy, France on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and Pvt
Ramirez was captured that same day while treating a man who had broken
his leg in the jump. [see
Escape & Evasion report]
Pvt Ramirez was wounded a day or two later later while being moved in a
POW truck convoy and it was attacked by Allied aircraft whose pilots
were unaware of the POW's on-board. He was then taken to a POW hospital
in Rennes, France. The hospital was later liberated by Allied forces.
Pvt Ramirez was hospitalized in the 184th General Hospital, Mansfield,
England for treatment of his wound. He did not return to duty with the
508th. |