17May1926 – 19Mar1945
Edison Days
Dick graduated with the Class of January 1945. He was involved in Vaudeville and played football.
Dick entered the service in August 1944 and was one of 15 students involved in a program that allowed them to graduate with the Class of January 1945 while simultaneously serving in the military.
Military Service
Rank: Private First Class
Branch: United States Marine Corps
Unit: Marine Detachment – USS Franklin
Dick entered the service in August 1944 and attended basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina.
After basic training he was assigned to Guard Company Number One at Marine Barracks Puget Sound Naval Yard in Bremerton, Washington.
In February 1945 Dick joined the Marine Detachment abord the aircraft carrier USS Franklin. Big Ben as the ship was nicknamed, was heading back to service in the Pacific after spending several months undergoing repairs from a Japanese Kamikaze attach in October 1944.
As part of naval Task Force 58, the Franklin’s aircraft were involved in the pre-invasion air operations leading up to the landings at Okinawa. On March 19, a Japanese aircraft attacked, with 2 bombs striking the flight deck. Penetrating the hangar deck, the bombs caused massive destruction and fires.
The attack wounded 487 men and killed 807, including Dick. It was the 2nd largest loss of life aboard a Navy ship during World War 2.
Dick was buried at sea.
Dick is 1 of 18,095 US service members memorialized on the Courts of the Missing Honolulu Memorial within the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Edison Heroes 