6Jul1927 – 11May1945
Edison Days
Records indicated that Richard attended Edison High School. The only picture found to date is in the “In Memoriam” section of the 1946 Edison Wizard yearbook.
Military Service
Rank: Private 1st Class
Branch: United States Marine Corps Reserve
Unit: Company A – 1st Battalion – 7th Marines – 1st Marine Division
Richard joined the Marine Corps in April 1944 and attended Marine bootcamp in San Diego, California.
He was sent overseas in October 1944. Landing on Pavuvu in the Russell Islands, Richard joined the 1st Marine Division as a replacement due to the heavy losses suffered in the Battle of Peleliu in September 1944. For the next 4 months Richard and his fellow Marines trained for what would be the largest combined Army-Marine operation attempted in the Pacific theater during the war, the invasion of Okinawa.
The following excerpts are from a history of the 1st Marine Division on Okinawa.
Richard and the 1st Marine Division landed on Okinawa on the 1Apr1944.
The situation for Richard and the 1st Marine Division would change drastically in May. They were engaged in some of the fiercest (and famous) actions encountered on Okinawa.
Richard was killed in action during this battle. Richard was only 17 years old (56 days shy of his 18th birthday).
Richard was buried in a temporary military cemetery on Okinawa. In January 1949 his remains were returned to Minnesota for reburial.
Richard is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Richard is 1 of 14,011 names of US service members killed on Okinawa that are engraved on the Cornerstone of Peace Memorial at the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park.
Edison Heroes 