Earl (Rick) Richard
1932 (Age One year old)
1950 (age
19)
2004
(age 73)
Home on Leave
Boot Camp Photo
Outside Barracks
Summer 1951 NAAS Miramar 1952
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I was Born May 16, 1931 in Somerville, Massachusetts.
In 1935 my family moved 15 miles North of Boston to a little town called Wilmington
Mass. The little house (shown below) was home until I entered the
U.S. Navy on 1 June 1948.
************************************************************************************************************************************ In
1941, at the age of 10, learning to play the Trumpet was my main
interest
. My loving mother purchased a new trumpet for me at a cost of $69 and
then made the arrangements for me to take private lessons for the next several years
(50 cents per lesson). Every
Saturday I had to walk three miles
down and three miles back, to the Instructors house, and that was a bit
tiring. But at a cost of fifty cents per lesson, I guess I shouldn't
complain.
When
I entered Jr. High School in 1944, I became a member of the school band and continued on thru High
School to became the top Trumpet solo player in the High School Band.
CLICK
PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
1945 in front of my house
Playing taps at the Memorial Day Parade
The following day (June 1st) I joined the U.S.Navy
Playing
at the High School football games and the Memorial Day Parades was lots of fun.
Being
the High School Top Trumpet player also had other interests. Since the
USA was deep into WWII during the early 1940's we seen many sad days
when our war hero's were being returned home only to be buried in the military
plot at the Wildwood Cemetery in Wilmington, Mass. The local
American Legion Post would conduct military burial services and needed a
bugler to play taps. It was an honor for me to be selected
as the Legions
bugler for these services, but quite sad. The only enjoyment was going to the
Legion hall after the ceremony for coffee and donuts. A
legitimate (and legal) excuse for getting out of a class
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Wilmington Schools attended by Earl (Rick)
Richard
West
School
Whitefield School Center
School W.T. Buzzell
School Wilmington H.S.
Grades 1 &
2
Grades 3,4,
5 Grade
6
Grades
7 & 8
Grades 9 thru 12
(Now a
Museum) ( North Wilmington)
Jr. High
School The Old Sr.
High School
_small.jpg)
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On
June 1st 1948 I decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps and went to the Fargo
Building in Boston to enlist (up on the 5th floor). Upon (almost) completing the physical,
I was told the Marine Corp height requirement was 5 ft 3 Inches. I
measured 5 ft 2-3/4 Inches. Yup, you guessed it, I was turned down. The
recruiter handed me a bunch of enlistment papers and suggested that I take
them up to the 7th floor and join the U.S. Navy.
That was where I ended up - and was then shipped off to Chicago where I
entered Boot Camp Training at the Great Lakes
Naval Training Center as a member of Company
189. (See Photo below)
Photo
below taken approximately August 1948
Rick
Richard kneeling at far right, bottom row.
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With my music background, I was also selected to participate in the NTC
Recruit Training Command Drum and Bugle Corps. More fun than
spending all day on the grinder marching with a rifle and drilling.
Photos
below taken approximately July 1948
Left
photo - Rick Richard directly in the middle of the marching group
Right
photo, Rick Richard kneeling in the bottom row - far left
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Five
Boot Camp buddies from the State of Massachusetts
Top
Row-
William
Murphy- Roxbury Mass.
2nd
Row -
Wally
Merchant - Brockton, Mass
Hank
Hanson - Everett, Mass.
Sal
Coraccio - Waltham, Mass.
3rd
Row -
Frank
Chreafulli - Belmont, Mass.
Rick
Richard, Wilmington, Mass
Vic
Santamaria - Waltham Mass
.jpg)
