Biography

Field, Ralph Higbee b. July 16, 1879, Leon, Iowa; Father John Field, Mother Mattie Field; Divorced Alice Field in 1923, Married Olive Edith Mabel Bridge in 1926, separated before Spain; Sons John (1913-1938) and William (1919-1993); Civil Engineer, Farmer and Instructor at Commonwealth College; CP 1935; Received Passport# 438362 on May 10, 1937 which listed his address as Commonwealth College, Mena, Arkansas; Sailed May 26, 1937 aboard the Queen Mary; Arrived in Spain via Setcases on June 15, 1937; Served with the XV BDE, Mackenzie-Papineau BN, Estado Mayor, Quartermaster; In December he was transferred to Service Sanitaire; Rank Soldado; Returned July 20, 1938 aboard the Champlain; Returned to Commonwealth College along with fellow veteran Mary Rader; d. March 29, 1960, lower Milford, Lehigh, Pennsylvania; Son John Field was killed in Spain.

Sources: Sail; Scope of Soviet Activity; Cadre; Figueres List; Repatriation List (11/29/1937, ll. 29); RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 889, ll. 5-6; Opis 6, Delo 35, ll. 16; L-W Tree Ancestry. Code A

Family Bonds: American Fathers and Sons in the Spanish Civil War, By Chris Brooks and Lisa Clemmer, The Volunteer Blog, February 27, 2018.

Photograph: Ralph H. Field, undated.