Ralph Robert Wensinger

West Point, 1959

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by John Horgan on January 22, 2002:

This news article in the San Mateo County Times, dated January 09, 2002, was written by columnist, John Horgan. The title is: RALPH WENSINGER The obituary contained a vaguely familiar name. It jarred some distant San Mateo memories. Marian Elizabeth Wensinger passed away recently at the age of 93. She was a former resident of that city. Her last name rang a bell. Her son was the late U.S. Air Force Capt. Ralph Wensinger. He was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968. He had volunteered for low-level reconnaissance flying, extremely dangerous work. As such, he acted as an aerial spotter for artillery fire and air strikes. Wensinger, born in 1935, spent part of his childhood in San Mateo. For a brief time in the early 1950s, he was regarded as one of San Mateo County's finest student-athletes. But his life would be star-crossed. He attended Serra High School and became an outstanding quarterback on the school's 1951 Catholic Athletic League championship football team. But that didn't last. He transferred to nearby San Mateo High School. Again, he starred in football there. His 1952 San Mateo team lost a share of the Peninsula Athletic League title by losing to Burlingame, 26-21, on Thanksgiving Day. But trouble ensued and he abruptly left school entirely. He didn't graduate from San Mateo. Without his parents' knowledge, he faked his age and enlisted in the Army. He was all of 17 years old at the time. Wensinger was innately intelligent. When he was 18, he took a test for entrance to West Point and was accepted. There, he played quarterback on the Cadets' unbeaten lightweight football team. "He was a very good quarterback," recalled his Serra coach, Jesse Freitas, who now lives in San Diego. "He could throw the ball." Wensinger was an all-Catholic standout at Serra. Writing in The Times 44 years ago, then-sports-editor Jack Bluth referred to Wensinger as "a passing phenom" as a prep. His sister, Rosalyn Wensinger Sands of Fairfax, Virginia, recalled that her older brother wanted to be a fighter pilot. But his eyesight wasn't quite good enough. Nonetheless, she said, he was able to join the Air Force and become a B-52 pilot. After a while, he yearned to join the U.S. space program. He wanted to be an astronaut. He obtained a master's degree in aeronautical engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio. He then volunteered to serve one year with the Air Force in Vietnam. It was a fateful decision. He was shot down Oct. 21, 1968, just one week before his 33rd birthday. "He was a wonderful human being, a great brother and I loved him dearly. Then he was gone in an instant," said his sister. Wensinger is buried in the West Point military cemetery. He was awarded three medals for his service: The Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal (with five oak leaf clusters) and the Purple Heart (posthumously). Besides his sister, Wensinger is survived by three daughters and a son. Wensinger's life and military career will be remembered May 19, 2002, in ceremonies in Washington, D.C. A wreath will be laid where his name is inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial. The event will be part of an annual service to honor the 13 members of the West Point Class of 1958 who died serving in Vietnam. Wensinger actually began his West Point career with that class but graduated a year later. Members of the Class of 1959 also have been invited to attend the May affair, according to George Sibert of Virginia, one of its organizers. Those interested can contact him at 703-525-4094. John Horgan can be reached at (650)348-4334 and by e-mail at jhorg@hotmail.com.

admin