Gaither, Ridgely A Jr., born 23-02-1903 in Baltimore, Maryland,
the son of Ridgely Gaither, Sr. and Genevieve Dumeste Ridgely. Husband of Dorothy White Bassford and Anne Stuart Harcourt, Father of Elizabeth Ridgely “Betty” Gaither, who died in 2010 (age 81-82). Ridgely began his career as a military officer in 1924 after his graduation from St. John’s College in Annapolis.
His family had included Army officers since the Revolutionary War.
Before World War II, he served at various posts in this country, Alaska, then a territory and China, where he was stationed when the Japanese invaded China in 1937.
After heading the Parachute School from 1943 until 1945, he jumped with the 17th Airborne Division, nicknamed “Goldan Talons”
iunder command of Brigade General William Maynadier “Bud” Miley,
east of the Rhine River, landing almost on top of a German anti-aircraft battery.







The German Armed Forces pioneered the use of large-scale airborne formations, first during the invasion of Norway and Denmark and later that year during the assaults on the Netherlands and Belgium in 1940 and later in the Battle of Crete in 1941. The Allied governments were aware of the success of these operations (but not of the heavy German casualties incurred, particularly during the assault on the Netherlands and the invasion of Crete) and decided to form their own airborne formations. This decision would eventually lead to the creation of five American and two British airborne divisions, as well as many smaller units. The 17th Airborne Division was activated on 15-04-1943 at Camp Mackall in North Carolina, under the command of the newly promoted Major General William Miley, a veteran of World War I. The division was originally composed of the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
activated on 11-01-1943 at Fort Benning, the 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment, and the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment. The official dedication ceremony for the unit took place on 01-05-1943, with thousands of civilian and military spectators, including Major General Elbridge Gerry Chapman,
overall commander of Airborne Command and of all American airborne forces during World War.



Elbridge Gerry Chapman Jr. ( 20-11-1895 – 06-07-1954, age 58 ) was a senior United States Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II. During the latter he commanded the 13th Airborne Division, but saw no action.- II.
In terms of casualties, the 17th suffered a total of 1,346 casualties between 24 and 29 March, when Operation Plunder came to an end. The German Generalfeldmarschall der Panzertruppe, Kommandeur XXXXI Panzergruppe, Walter Model





Death and burial ground of Gaither, Ridgely A Jr.






The Doolittle Raid, also known as Doolittle’s Raid, as well as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18-04-1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. Although the raid caused comparatively minor damage, it demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attacks. It served as an initial retaliation for the 07-12-1941 attack on Pearl Harbor,
and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned by, led by, and named after Lieutenant Colonel James Harold Jimmy Doolittle.








In February 1942, John volunteered to participate in the raid, which took place on April 18 that year. Meder and his bomber crew was captured by the Japanese after the completion of his bombing mission. He died while in Japanese captivity in 1943. Months of starvation and disease resulted in Meder becoming weaker and requiring medical assistance. He died of malnutrition and beri-beri on 01-12-1943, age 26, while still in captivity.
The Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii was attacked by 184 Japanese bombers on the morning of 07-12-1941. During this first wave of attacks, the Japanese targeted moored battleships and several military airfields were also bombarded. After the first wave of attacks, another 54 bombers and 80 dive bombers arrived to finish the job.
The attack killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians, and destroyed or damaged 19 U.S. Navy ships, including 8 battleships. The three aircraft carriers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were out to sea on maneuvers.


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