William R. Duckworth

William R. Duckworth
Personal details
Born	27 October 1921 Salinas, California
Died	25 April 2006 Porterville, California
Nativity	United States
Religion	Protestant
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Arm / service	Coast Artillery Corps
ASN	01057723
Rank	First Lieutenant
Rank at Ritchie	Second Lieutenant
Camp Ritchie	Class 18 (13 April – 10 June 1944)
Section	6E

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.

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William R. Duckworth Sr. (27 October 1921 – 25 April 2006) was a Salinas-born cavalry and antiaircraft officer who trained at Camp Ritchie in Class 18 and later led Spreckels Sugar operations in California.

Biography

William Raymond Duckworth Sr. was born on 27 October 1921 in Salinas, California, a descendant of Monterey-area Duckworth, Underwood, and Bramer families. He attended University High in Berkeley.

In February 1942 he enlisted in the Monterey 11th Army Horse Cavalry. In 1943 he attended officer candidate training with specializations in antiaircraft artillery and intelligence, with stations at Fort Bliss, Texas; Camp Ritchie, Maryland (Class 18); and Camp Lockett, California. He married Nellie K. Hanson of El Paso, Texas, on 3 March 1944 and was discharged in 1946 as a first lieutenant.

Duckworth graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1948 in agricultural economics and joined Spreckels Sugar Company in Woodland and Salinas, retiring as an executive in 1983 before consulting and managing farm operations. Nellie died in 1993. He died on 25 April 2006 in Porterville and was buried at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Salinas.

Research notes

• Also Class 16 JapOB

Gallery

• 
  William Raymond Duckworth Sr. portrait (RB Archive)
• 
  Porterville Recorder obituary clipping for William R. Duckworth Sr., May 2006 (RB Archive)

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	85
Class_ASN	57723
Class_Name	DUCKWORTH, William R.
match_method	asn_partial_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 27 October 1921 — Born in Salinas, California.
• February 1942 — Enlisted, Monterey 11th Army Horse Cavalry.
• 1943 — OCS / antiaircraft and intelligence training; Camp Ritchie Class 18.
• 3 March 1944 — Married Nellie K. Hanson.
• 1946 — Discharged as first lieutenant.
• 1948 — B.S. agricultural economics, UC Berkeley; joined Spreckels Sugar.
• 1983 — Retired from Spreckels Sugar.
• 1993 — Nellie Duckworth died.
• 25 April 2006 — Died in Porterville, California.

Sources

• Porterville Recorder obituary clipping for William R. Duckworth Sr., May 2006 (RB Archive)
• William Raymond Duckworth Sr. portrait (RB Archive)
• RB Archive ProQuest Salinas Californian obituary, William R. Duckworth Sr., 1 May 2006
• RB Archive Porterville Recorder / Salinas obituary materials for William R. Duckworth Sr. (April–May 2006)
• 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 2022-12-04 (1 post)