Ralph James Wickel (November 28, 1921 – April 26, 2001) was an American tennis player. Wickel was born and was raised in the borough of

Lansdale, Pennsylvania Lansdale is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. I ...

. The family home was located on N. Towamencin Avenue. The Wickel family were members of the Church of the Holy Trinity, North Broad Street. Wickel was educated in the Lansdale public school system and graduated from Lansdale High School. Wickel participated in the Lansdale High School marching band. As tennis was not a varsity sport at the school in the late 1930s, Wickel had to develop his skills on local tennis courts. The Pool and Sons Pants Factory, at Second Street and Towamencin Avenue in Lansdale, maintained a tennis court. The factory owner and operator, Irwin H. Pool, took notice of Ralph's tennis ability and mentored his development. Wickel participated in local amateur tennis tournaments and played at various private clubs in the Lansdale area. Wickel garnered the attention of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

(Philadelphia) and was awarded a scholarship to participate on the varsity tennis team. During the time Wickel was attending Temple University, the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Wickel enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 1942. Mustered into active service in May 1943, Wickel was stationed at

Fort George G. Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, th ...

, Maryland. Completing basic training and qualifying as an M1 rifle marksman, Ralph's occupational specialty was to be a radio operator with the 3132nd Sonic Company. The 3132nd Sonic Company was composed of soldiers participating in a classified unit named the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. Their mission involved tactical deception activities in the

European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

. The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops were composed of the 603rd Engineer Battalion, 406th Combat Engineer, and the 3132nd Sonic Company, better known in history as the

Ghost Army The Ghost Army was a United States Army tactical deception unit during World War II officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. The 1,100-man unit was given a unique mission: to deceive Hitler's forces and mislead them as to the ...

. The special troops were composed of artists, designers, actors, meteorologists, sound technicians, and their true mission was not to fight, but to deceive the German army. Their props were inflatable tanks and pyrotechnics; their tools camouflage, "spoof" radio plays, special effects, and sonic deception. Wickel departed with his company for the European theatre in May 1944. During his service, he was involved in the battles of Northern France, the Ardennes, Central Europe and the Rhineland. The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops military activities were highly classified during the war, and the mission details were only declassified in 1996. Wickel earned the military position of

Technician Fifth Grade Technician fifth grade (abbreviated T/5 or Tec 5) was a rank of the United States Army from 1942 to 1948. The rank was created to recognize enlisted soldiers with special technical skills, but who were not trained as combat leaders. History ...

(T/5). Receiving an honorable discharge from the United States Army, he returned to civilian life in November 1945. Wickel returned to Temple University to compete on the varsity tennis team and earn a bachelor's degree. Upon graduation, he and his wife, Georgine, continued to reside in the Philadelphia area. Wickel chose a career in education, and the Wickel family expanded with the birth of their daughter, Kathleen. As a member of the Middle States Lawn Tennis Association, a division of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA), Wickel competed successfully in amateur regional tennis tournaments. He reached divisional rankings of 9th in singles (1954) and 1st in doubles (1954 & 1955). Wickel competed in the USLTA men's singles United States National Championships, now known as the US Open Tennis Championships. He competed in Round 1 of the tournament in 1952, 1954 and 1955. Wickel changed careers, joining the Holt, Rinehart and Winston Publishing Co. and working there until his retirement in 1981, at which time he and his wife moved to

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

. Ralph and Georgine were avid antique automobile collectors and were members of the National Antique Automobile Club and the Indian River County Studebaker Club. Wickel died on April 26, 2001, in Vero Beach, Florida.

Military honors and awards

Wickel's decorations include

United States Lawn Tennis Association – Middle States Lawn Tennis Association

Men's Regional Singles Rankings: 1951 – 17th 1952 – 17th 1954 – 9th 1955 – 13th 1956 – 14th Men's Regional Doubles Rankings: 1952 – 19th (Wills and Wickel) 1954 – 1st (Stern and Wickel) 1955 – 1st (Hoffman and Wickel) 1956 – 6th (Meade and Wickel)

Tennis career: Major tournaments

Men's singles 1952 , 1952-08-29 – US Open Round 1 – Wood Jr., Sidney Burr d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–0 6–2 6–4) 1952 , 1952-07-15 – North Philadelphia Tennis Tournament Quarterfinals – Wickel, Ralph J. d. Hoffman, Harry (6–8 6–3 6–3) 1953 , 0000-00-00 – Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship Round 1 – Eisenberg, Pablo S. d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–2 6–0) 1954 , 1954-08-28 – US Open Round 1 – Stewart, George d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–3 6–4 6–2) 1954 , 0000-00-00 – North Philadelphia Tennis Tournament Final – Hoffmann Jr., Harry d. Wickel, Ralph J. (4–6 6–4 7–5 6–4) 1954 , 1954-06-06 – Philadelphia and District Clay Courts Quarterfinals – Hoffmann Sr., Harry d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–1 6–3) 1954 , 1954-07-25 – Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship Round 1 – Wickel, Ralph J. d. Clothier 2nd, William J. (Bill) (6–3 4–6 8–6) Round 2 – Lesch, John J. d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–3 7–5) 1955 , 1955-09-02 – US Open Round 1 – Falkenburg, Robert (Bob) d. Wickel, Ralph J. (8–6 6–1 5–7 6–0 ) 1955 , 1955-06-26 – West Jersey Open Semifinals – Meade Jr., Newton B. d. Wickel, Ralph J. (2–2 ret.) 1955 , 1955-07-24 – Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship Round 1 – Gaines, Richard (Dick) d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–1 6–1) 1956 , 1956-06-03 – Water Tower TC Hard Courts Quarterfinals – Clark, Straight d. Wickel, Ralph J. (?) 1956 , 1956-06-10 – Philadelphia and District Clay Courts Round 3 – Wickel, Ralph J. d. Clothier 2nd, William J. (Bill) (6–3 6–1) Quarterfinals – Meade Jr., Newton B. d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–4 3–6 13–11) 1956 , 1956-07-29 – Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship Preliminary Round – Schnaars, James d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–3 6–2) 1957 , 1957-05-12 – Brockway Invitation Round 2 – Short, Joseph P. (Joey) d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–1 6–3) 1959 , 1959-06-14 – West Jersey Open Semifinals – Boyer, Robert (Bob) d. Wickel, Ralph J. (w.o.) 1960 , 1960-05-08 Cheltenham Hardcourts Round 2 – Wickel, Ralph J. d. Lieberman, Mike (6–4 6–1) Quarterfinals – Dailey, Edward G. (Ed) d. Wickel, Ralph J. (7–5 6–2) 1960 , 1960-06-19 – Delaware Valley Quarterfinals – Meade Jr., Newton B. d. Wickel, Ralph J. (6–4 6–4)

References

External links

Borough of Lansdale

Temple University

''The Ghost Army''
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

''The Ghost Army'': 3132nd Signal Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickel, Ralph James United States Army non-commissioned officers Tennis players from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania 1921 births Sportspeople from Lansdale, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II American male tennis players 2001 deaths Sportspeople from Vero Beach, Florida 20th-century American sportsmen

Military honors and awards

United States Lawn Tennis Association – Middle States Lawn Tennis Association

Tennis career: Major tournaments

See also

References

External links