Floyd Ragsdale: A Soldier Who Dodged Death in WWII

by Luke Bradburn

Floyd Ragsdale was born on September 9, 1925 in Waterloo, Iowa. Because of the Great Depression, his family moved to Indiana, but his father had no job from 1931-1937. It was a very difficult time for the Ragsdale family. Floyd had a brother and two sisters. In 1943, just before his high school graduation, Floyd was drafted into the army. He trained for the 65th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby, Mississippi for 18 weeks. He was part of the 106th Infantry. After four more weeks of training, his infantry, totaling 15,000 men, was sent to England. His division, the Golden Lion Division, was located sixty miles west of London. They were there for a month, then were ordered to cross the English Channel into Belgium. The Channel waters were so rough; they had to wait five days before safely transferring to landing craft. They proceeded to Omaha Beach on the French Coast, and then were driven by Truck Convoy to the tiny country of Belgium.In Belgium, the fighting started on December 16, 1944 and lasted for 44 days. The news media labeled this campaign as the Battle of the Bulge. The soldiers on the front lines dubbed it "41 days and nights of freezing hell," with some days and nights reaching 25 degrees below zero. Floyd remembers telling a friend that he needed to take the foxhole by the mortar, since he was in charge of the illuminating the area with flares if they were needed. They switched places, and his friend was dead within an hour. Floyd saw 30 days of this intense battle until he was wounded and taken out of battle. Many times, he wondered why he lived and others died.The Battle of the Bulge was key to winning the war. Later, Floyd would learn there were plans to drop an atomic bomb on Germany if the U.S. troops could not reverse the tide of this battle. Thankfully, through the tough stance of our heroes, American forces won this battle. Many deaths and casualties were the price of this success.Floyd returned home, married and his strong work ethic led him to be part owner and vice president of Trilutions Computer Internet Center in Galesburg, Illinois. His work prospered, and he retired in the 1990's. His retirement was soon filled with speaking about World War II in local schools. He realized that many school children were not aware of what happened to his "greatest generation" during that war. In 2010, Floyd met a lady online whose father was in the 106th Infantry. She was going back to Belgium to the battle site and asked Floyd to go. His wife was now deceased, and Floyd decided to go and see how this area looked after the war. He also wanted to visit the graves of his friends. The two met in Amsterdam and visited the Ardennes Forest near a little town called Grosskampenborg. While there, he noticed that the area locals had left the area intact, so he was able to find his old foxhole. The Mayor of a neighboring town surprised him with a special honorary citizen certificate and a package of Belgian beer. Because Floyd wore his World War II hat, many Belgian citizens thanked him for what he did for their country.A man Floyd met on this first trip studied WWII history and told him he deserved a Bronze Star for his service. Floyd took a 20-page application to Congressman Bobby Schilling's office in 2011. Later the same year, Floyd Ragsdale was honored at the Galesburg Armory with the Bronze Star and Belgian Fourragere award. He also received a Purple Heart and three campaign stars.In 2014, Floyd was scheduled to return to Belgium with a friend for the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Sadly, Floyd passed away just days before he made the trip. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle fought during the war. On behalf of a grateful nation, we salute you, Mr. Floyd Ragsdale, for your dedication and service to your country.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1541007964
• ISBN13: 9781541007963
• Release Date: February 2017
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 26 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"