Ralph Yelton (July 17, 1926 – February 8, 2015), was an American politician in the state of
Tennessee. Yelton served in the
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Constitutional requirements
According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...
from 1977 to 1989 as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
from
Sullivan County, Tennessee.
He was an
accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy.
Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...
and in religion, a
Baptist.
He lived in
Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...
. He was a
Korean War veteran, having served with the
United States Army's
2nd Infantry Division. Yelton was wounded in 1951, leading to partial
paralysis
Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...
.
According to Veteran's Administration records Yelton was the oldest living paralyzed combat veteran in the country. He died in 2015, aged 88.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yelton, Ralph
1926 births
2015 deaths
People from Bakersville, North Carolina
People from Kingsport, Tennessee
Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives