Ralph W. Franke was born on January 28, 1913, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He served in the 83rd Station Complement Squadron, as a Staff Sergeant and was a passenger on the B-17 #43-37776 'Heavenly Body' at the time of his death. He was Killed in Action on September 27, 1944, while on a routine night training mission when his airplane crashed on the Elmside Farm near the village of Nailstone in England. After turning, just North of Nailstone, near Ibstock, the B-17's nose dropped, and the port wing struck the ground. The machine was completely destroyed by fire and explosion. The cause of the crash remains unknown, which resulted in the death of all men aboard their plane.

SSgt Franke is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.