Scope and Contents

Three linear feet of photographs, certificates, uniforms, and accessories document Ralph E. Thompson's career in the United States Army and the United States Air Force, including his time as commander of the 10th Aeromedical Evacuation Group where he made frequent trips to Vietnam between 1966 and 1969 to organize the evacuation of wounded personnel to hospitals in Japan and the United States. Items of note in this collection include three military uniform hats, a Rhein, Germany Main Rod and Gun Club uniform, and a 10th Aeromedical Evacuation Group Plaque.

Biographical / Historical

Ralph Eugene Thompson was born in 1916 in Amite, Louisiana. Ath the age of 14 he got a job aboard a ship where his travels led him to a variety of places such as the Middle East and the west coast of the United States. Thompson joined the United States Army in 1937 and was trained as a hospital ward attendant at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. His later assignments included Randolph Air Base, Texas, Fort Ord, California, and Camp Stoneman, California. During World War II, Thompson worked as an assistant in the Theater Surgeon General's Office. After the war, he attended the Command and General Staff College. In 1947 he joined the United States Air Force Surgeon General's Office. Thompson then served two four year tours in Germany at Wiesbaden and Ramstein. He later became the commander of the 10th Aeromedical Evacuation Group based at Hickham Field, Hawaii. There he organized aeromedical evacuations of wounded personnel from Vietnam to hospitals in Japan and the United States. He frequently visited American medical facilities in Vietnam between 1966 and 1969. Thompson currently suffers from several Agent Orange related illnesses, but remains active in his community in Fayetteville, North Carolina.