Private First Class Raymond De Monge (Service No. 35137539) of the 101st Airborne Signal Corps had a premonition of death. According to the recollections of a technician who flew with De Monge the night of June 6, 1944, as their glider passed over the English Channel, “…De Monge predicted he would not come out of the landing alive.”

Raymond Eugene De Monge was born on May 27, 1920, in Fayetteville, Brown County, Ohio. His parents William De Monge (1882 – 1964) and Ella Mildred Gardner (1887 – 1952) had both been born in Ohio, but the family was of French and German ancestry. Raymond had an older brother Carl (1911 – 1973) and a younger brother John Francis “Jack” (1924 – 2001). He may have also had an older sister Ethel (B: about 1913).

According to Federal Census records, the De Monge family lived in a rural area. Raymond was born about a month after the 1920 U.S. Federal Census was conducted. But in the 1930 Census, nine-year-old Raymond was recorded as a boarder living with C.R. Bailey, a chef, and his wife Anna in Fayetteville Village. At this time, his father and mother and younger brother Jack were living at 62 Broadway, Mount Orab, Brown County. The 1930 census, conducted at the beginning of the Great Depression, also appears to indicate that Raymond may have had a sister Ethel, who was then 17. At this time, Raymond’s father William was the proprietor of a dry goods store, but neither his mother Ella nor his sister Ethel were employed.

Ten years later, in the 1940 US Federal Census, Raymond and his mother Ella lived at 121 Water Street, Mount Orab, Ohio, at the home of Rufus Donley, a carpenter, where Ella, now 53, was the housekeeper. According to this Census, she was divorced. Raymond was noted as having attended Fayetteville High School for one year. The 1940 Census also shows that Raymond’s brothers Carl, 29, and Jack, 16, a student, lived with their father at Route 50, in Perry, Brown County, Ohio, and all were farmers.

Raymond appears to have married Faye Louise Black, a young woman who also came from Ohio, either in 1942 or1943.

On July 1, 1941, Raymond registered for the draft at Brown County Court House, in Georgetown, Ohio. The six-foot tall, 200-pound young man had blue eyes and blonde hair. On his draft registration card, he stated that he was a farmer, and that, he was once again living with his father in Fayetteville.

It is not clear when Raymond actually enlisted with the Army. But according to a brief biographical sketch included in Young American Patriots: The Youth of Ohio in World War II, published in 1946, Raymond entered service on March 30, 1942, at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. He also spent time at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before heading overseas to England.

Once in the Army, Raymond may have volunteered for the 101st Airborne Signal Corps. As the D-Day invasion began, he and several other young soldiers were assigned to fly in an assault glider from England to France. According to “Fighting Gliders of World II,” by Russell Lee, an assault glider could carry up to 15 soldiers or 9,000 pounds of equipment. They were pulled by tow planes at approximately 150 miles per hour. During the D-Day invasion, gliders transported infantry and equipment behind German lines. Although they were designed to land intact so they could be used repeatedly, most gliders crash landed and were damaged beyond repair.

Sadly, that was the fate of the glider transporting Raymond De Monge. Somewhere over Normandy, France, as the glider was cut loose from its tow plane, it overshot its target and crashed. Raymond and almost all of the other young men aboard were killed. Raymond’s premonition had come true.

Raymond’s body was recovered and eventually returned to America. He was buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Fayetteville, Brown County, Ohio. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.

_This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see _www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold 3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen’s name and read his/her story.

Author’s Note:

Young American Patriots also includes a sketch of Raymond’s younger brother John Francis “Jack,” who is described as having joined the US Navy on December 12, 1942, in Great Lakes, Illinois, at age 21, and having served in the Pacific Theater. Jack’s wife was listed as Verona Carpenter of Maysville, Ohio. Jack’s mother Ella De Monge of Mount Orab, Ohio is mentioned, but as in the sketch of Raymond, there is no mention of their father William.

Raymond’s surname is variously spelled De Monge; Demonge; Demange; or Denonge in online records.

SOURCES:

www.ancestry.com. Roster of WWII Dead; 1930 and 1940 US Federal Census for Raymond De Monge; 1920 US Federal Census for brother Carl De Monge; biographical sketches of Raymond De Monge and John Francis De Monge, published in Young American Patriots: The Youth of Ohio in World War II 1941-1945 (see below).
“Fighting Gliders of World War II,” by Russell Lee, Aeronautics Department, National Air and Space Museum, Posted May 8, 2020. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/fighting-gliders-world-war-ii The photo of the Douglas C-47 Troop carrying planes towing gliders on D-Day was also found in this article; it originally was obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration.
www.findagrave.com Photos of Raymond in uniform and his tombstone in Ohio. This page includes a long excerpt from “They Gave It All,” posted by Find A Grave Contributor Hudson Louie (49842853). The excerpt includes the story of De Monge’s premonition. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123718398/raymond-eugene-demonge
www.fold3.com. Draft registration cards for Raymond De Monge and his older brother Carl.
WWW.HONORSTATES.ORG Information on Raymond De Monge can be found at https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=510615
www.wwiimemorial.com/registry. Online Memorial Placque for Raymond De Monge. National Archives and Records Administration War Department Files.
www.newspapers.com. Obituary for Raymond’s father William De Monge was originally published in The Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 March 1964, page 24. The obituary mentions sons Carl and John Francis “Jack,” but makes no mention of Raymond. It also describes William as “husband of the late Ella De Monge.”
“They Gave It All.” This page on the social media site Facebook is dedicated to WWII veterans. It includes a video about finding Raymond De Monge’s grave. If you have a Facebook account, search for “They Gave It All,” which should take you to the general page.
Young American Patriots: The Youth of Ohio in World War II, 1941 – 1945. (Digital Image on www.ancestry.com.) This book included biographical sketches of Raymond De Monge and John Francis De Monge. It was originally published in 1946 by the National Publishing Company, Richmond, Virginia.

PFC Raymond Eugene De Monge