Ralph Valtin

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Ralph Valtin
Personal details
Birth nameWiegelmesser
Born1925
Died2018
NativityGermany
ReligionQuaker
AwardsSilver Star
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN32979839
EnlistedNew York City, New York
TeamIPW 24
Awards and honors
Silver Star
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.


Ralph Valtin (1925–2018) was a Ritchie Boy (born Wiegelmesser; from Germany; Qu) who trained at Camp Ritchie and served with IPW Team 24.

Biography

This obituary of Ritchie Boy Rolf Valtin was published in the Washington Post of September 2, 2018. Rolf Valtin, labor mediator Rolf Valtin, 93, a labor mediator and arbitrator who helped resolve labor disputes involving General Motors, coal and steel companies and their labor unions, died Aug. 1 at his home in Alexandria, Va. The cause was congestive heart failure, said a son-in-law, Roy Hawkens. Valtin was born Rolf Wiegelmesser in Hamburg, and immigrated to the United States in 1938 because of his family’s Jewish and Quaker background. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as an interrogator of German prisoners of war. He was an all-American soccer player at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the 1948 Summer Games. Valtin was a federal mediator and arbitrator in Philadelphia before moving to the Washington area in 1965 and opening his own arbitration practice. He retired in 2013.

Research notes

  • Silver Star; BS; also 2nd Lt 02015843

Technical record

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 93
Nara ASN 32979839
Nara Name VALTIN RALPH
Nara State 23
Nara County 61
Nara POE 2364
Nara DOE 60743
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Grade Code 8
Nara Branch Alpha NO
Nara Branch Code 2
Branch No branch assignment
Nara Term or Enlistment 5
Term of enlistment Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date 0
Nara Source 0
Nara Nativity N1
Nara Year of Birth 25
Nara Race J
Nara Race Description White not yet a citizen
Nara Education 4
Nara Civilian Occupation 992
Nara Marital Status 6
Nara Height (inches) 0
Nara Weight (lbs) 0
row_source demographics

Sources

  • Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
  • 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 2019-12-17 (1 post)