Ralph W. von Bergen entered the military service in Colorado. served in the 753rd Bomber Squadron, 458th Bomber Group (Heavy) as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner on the B-24 42-95133 "Lady Jane", Dooley crew, during World War II.

Lady Jane took off from RAF Horsham St.Faith /AAF Station 123 on November 24, 1944 on a practice mission but fatally crashed due to bad weather. Flying at low level with a 10/10s cloud base at 400-600 feet and poor horizontal visibility the B-24 struck the steeple of St Philip's Church, losing the outer part of the RH wing and RH tail assembly. Those on the ground saw the bomber fly on for about another 1,000 yards, before banking steeply to the right and plunging onto the Barker Street rail depot. There were no casualties on the ground, but all crew members aboard died in the crash.

SSGT von Bergen is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, aviation-safety.net