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01 July 2010
At 85 years of age, Ralph Puhalovich has experienced parts of American history that most of us have only read about in the history books. It all began in 1925 when Ralph was humbly born in his family’s home in West Oakland. His family settled in the area as a result of his father’s employment with the Southern Pacific Railroad. They later moved to East Oakland in 1940 where Ralph lived until he graduated from high school.
In July of 1943, one month after his high school graduation, Ralph enlisted in the US Army to serve his country during World War II. Upon enlisting, Ralph was sent to Corvallis, Oregon, where he trained until January 1944. It was then that he was sent northbound on a train to his next assignment. All he was told that if the train turned left, he was heading to the Pacific theater and if it turned right, he was heading to European theater. The train turned right.
When Ralph arrived in England later that spring, he joined the US 1st Infantry Division, the oldest division in the US Army which has seen continuous service since 1775. Thirty seven men from his platoon left England in early June of 1944 and landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). Following the Normandy invasion, the division headed through France and Belgium to the German border. In October of 1944 the 1st Infantry Division arrived in Aachen, Germany becoming the first foreign troops to cross the German border in 300 years. It was in the Hürtgen Forest, along the German-Belgium border, that the division engaged in the bloody battle known as the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. With an estimated 50,000 to 65,000 casualties, it was the biggest battle in American history at the time. Unfortunately for the 1st Infantry Division, they would see an even bigger battle only two months later.
In December of 1944, Ralph’s division was allowed a break to regroup. The break was cut short when the Germans struck the Ardennes Mountains region of Belgium and the American soldiers were sent back to the battle line. The Battle of the Bulge, as it has come to be known, lasted 35 days. During this time, the troops received very little food because of the dense snow. By the end of the battle - the single largest and bloodiest battle that American forces fought in World War II - Ralph had lost 35 pounds weighing only 155 lbs at 6’2” tall. The 1st Infantry Division continued to move through Germany in the winter and spring until they reached Schönbach. The troops were here when the war ended.
After a year of bloody battles, only 9 of the original 37 men who stormed Normandy in Ralph’s platoon survived. Today, only two of those men are still alive: Ralph Puhalovich and his dear friend Gerry “Mooch” Mutschinski in New York. During the war Ralph was wounded three times and was awarded two Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars for combat heroism. Ralph holds a total of 23 medals for service during World War II. In April of 2007, Ralph received the French Legion of Honor presented by the Consul General from the French Consulate in San Francisco. He is now known as a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Legion of Honor and his title is Sir Ralph.
After returning home from the war, Ralph took some time off before studying architecture at Marin Community College and then UC Berkeley. After 3.5 years of schooling, he lost his government pension and was forced to quit school. During Ralph’s career, he worked for a steamship company, civil engineering firm and steel company before settling into D.W. Nicholson Corporation, an industrial contractor, for 23 years.
In October of 1951, Ralph married “the girl next door”. Ralph had met his wife, Louise, over the back fence. Louise lived with her family in the house behind Ralph’s and had grown up during the war years. His father was tired of the couple jumping over the fence to see each other, so he built a gate for easier rendezvous’. After 58 years of marriage, the couple is still happily married with two children and two grand children. They currently live in Rio Vista.
Retired since 1987, Ralph enjoys spending time with his wife, focusing on hobbies and playing golf. At 85, he routinely plays with men 20 years his junior who tell him that they hope to “live as long, look as good and play as well” as Ralph when they are his age. While he boasts that he is still the same weight as he was at 19 and doesn’t need to wear glasses, he is genuinely thankful for his health and his wife’s health.
Ralph is part of an important chapter in American history and truly an American hero. If you are interested in learning more about this period of history, Ralph’s story is featured in the book The Fighting First: Untold Story of Big Red One on D-Day by Flint Whitlock.