US Army Private Ralph Paul Moore was born in Suscockaway, Oklahoma on May 29, 1921, the son of Rufus Perry Moore (1894-1980) and Ida Belle Robinson (1893-1981). His father came to Santa Rosa County from Etowah County, Alabama and married Ida in 1911. In 1930, they listed their address as a rented house on Dixonville Road in Brewton, AL with his father supporting his family as a farmer. At the time the family consisted of his parents and siblings Annie M., Wilford M., Ruby Jewell, and Joseph James. By 1940, they had moved to the small community of Fidelis in Jay, Florida and were still farming.
Ralph's maternal grandfather was William Henry Robinson (1846-1921) who married Annie McCurdy and had enlisted in the Confederate Army at Pineapple, (Wilcox County) AL, He was assigned to Company "H" of the 62nd Alabama Infantry Regiment (1st ALA Reserves). Lockhart's Battalion, the nucleus of this regiment, was organized at Selma, in January 1864, and was on duty in the State until July, when it moved up to Cheaha, and lost severely in the fight there with Rousseau. A few days after, it was organized as the Sixty-second Alabama regiment, at Mobile. Stationed at Fort Gaines, the regiment was in the bombardment there, losing several killed and wounded. It also served in the Battle of Blakely, losing a number killed and wounded, and captured. Taken to Ship Island, the prisoners were exchanged and formally surrendered on May 14, 1865. After the War, he settled in Santa Rosa County, Florida and began raising his family. William is buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Jay, Florida.
In the meantime, Ralph would enlist in the US Army during WWII on July 2, 1943, and was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida for processing. Given the time period of his enlistment and the time it took to reach the front lines, it is doubtful that Ralph arrived any earlier than November 1943 to January 1944. When he finally arrived, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion of the 157th Infantry Regiment attached to the 45th Infantry Division. His regiment had already entered combat ahead of him in Sicily in October '43 and Salerno in September '43. On January 30, 1944, he and his regiment would have landed at Anzio after the initial landing was over. There, they began a bloody campaign as they pushed the Germans back towards Rome.
Soon, the Italian campaign was over, and Ralph and his regiment were scheduled for the landing in southern France called "Operation Dragoon." Because of its location all priorities were given to "Operation Overlord," which was the landing at Normandy (Forever known as D-Day) on June 6, 1944. Although Winston Churchill was not in favor of the operation, Washington approved it anyway. Their premise was to open a second front with southern ports opened for the influx of supplies for the push to Germany. Plus, the enemy forces they would be facing were second and third rate units at best. Germany's best soldiers had been withdrawn to support their defense at Normandy.
The landing was scheduled for August 15, 1944, and entailed three full divisions. Ralph's 45th Infantry Division landed at "Delta Beach" that contained the French town of St. Tropez and Le Muy. The resistance was light however one of the casualties that day was Private Ralph Paul Moore from Jay, Florida who was killed in action. Of the 94,000 men that landed there was only 395 killed of which Ralph was one. His remains were returned home and buried in the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Jay.
Although Ralph had already been killed, his regiment was involved in an infamous incident on April 29, 1945. Having liberated the concentration camp at Dachau, the soldiers saw first-hand the abject horror of what had gone on there. Dead inmates were everywhere naked, emaciated, and in various stages of decay. In retaliation, fifty of the German troops were herded into an area enclosed by an 8' masonry wall and were machine gunned by the regiment's soldiers. Lt. Colonel Felix Sparks, and the regiment’s companies under his command, became the focus of a four-part animated series released on Netflix called “The Liberator.” The series, at times heart-pounding, other times full of a profound stillness, presents timeless slices of the combat experience — fear, chaos, confusion, bravery, despair, callousness, tenderness, and camaraderie.
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