Debonsall Hedley

Debonsall Hedley
Personal details
Born	1911
Died	1978
Nativity	United States
Religion	Quaker
Awards	American Defense Medal
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	6997907
Rank	Technical Sergeant
Camp Ritchie	Class 14 (2 December 1943 – 31 January 1944)
Section	6C

Awards and honors

American Defense Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star	Good Conduct Medal	World War II Victory Medal

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Debonsall Hedley (1911–1978) was a Quaker Ritchie Boy (Class 14) who served as a technical sergeant, including the Normandy campaign, before an honorable discharge in November 1945.

Biography

Debonsall Hedley was born in 1911. A Quaker by religion in roster data, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on 24 November 1939 and later trained at Camp Ritchie, graduating with Class 14.

Hedley served overseas in the Normandy campaign. His separation papers identify him as a technical sergeant of the 403rd Air Base Depot and credit about four years, eight months of continental service and about one year, two months of foreign service. He was honorably discharged on 2 November 1945. Documented awards include the American Defense Service Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

He died in 1978.

Research notes

• OCR (100%) of `6021299114558626.jpg` (CAMP RITCHIE, MILITARY INTELLIGENCE TRAINING CENTER, Camp Ritchie).
• OCR (99%) of `6021299107891960.jpg` (gallery document) — dated 2 November 1945 — rank mentioned: Sergeant.
• OCR (97%) of `6021299111225293.jpg` (DISCHARGE, bronze star, Good Conduct) — rank mentioned: Captain.

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	67
Class_ASN	6997907
Class_Name	HEDLEY, DeBonsall
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 1911 — Born.
• 24 November 1939 — Enlisted in the U.S. Army.
• Camp Ritchie Class 14.
• Normandy campaign (European Theater).
• 2 November 1945 — Honorably discharged as technical sergeant, 403rd Air Base Depot.
• 1978 — Died.

Sources

• Historical Society of Pennsylvania — finding aid GSP060
• WorldCat record 232362028
• RB Archive scan set DH.pdf / DH-page-001–003.jpg (private copies aligned with gallery documents)
• Camp Ritchie training document (gallery)
• Awards / discharge document (gallery)
• Separation / discharge document (gallery)
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-05 (1 post)
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6021299114558626.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6021299107891960.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6021299111225293.jpg