Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1951 Lucky Bag:

Richard H. Richardson

Big Dick is one of those rare native Washingtonians . . . born and bred in D. C. . . . bread, that is, and it took a lot of it to mold this 6’ 4" giant . . . joined Uncle Sam’s Navy after high school and ended up at NAPS . . . one of those guys who can tell you the name of a record after two notes are played . . . likes all sports and plays them all . . . when you need another hand at cards, or a guy for a drinking party, Rich is your man . . . where there’s merriment there’s Rich . . . eats more than four horses . . . “But I need it, I’m just a growing boy” . . . how much bigger can he grow?

Loss

Rich was lost when his F-8 Crusader struck the ramp while landing aboard USS Midway (CVA 41) on January 20, 1966 while operating off the coast of Southern California.

Obituary

From the March 1966 issue of Shipmate:

LCdr. Richard H. Richardson, USN, died on 20 Jan. when the jet plane he was piloting crashed into the deck of USS MIDWAY in training operations in the Pacific near San Diego, Calif. He was executive officer of Fighter Squadron 124 at the Naval Air Station, Miramar. Services and interment were at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Cdr. Richardson, who was born in Washington, D.C. , attended Bainbridge Naval Preparatory School before entering the Naval Academy, from where he was graduated in 1951. He served as an instructor at the all-weather night fighter school at Key West, Fla., and at the Naval Officers Training School at Newport; he later attended the Naval War College. He held the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Vietnam, and the Naval Occupations Medal.

He is survived by his widow, Darlyene, of 6792 Maury Dr., San Diego; two sons, Peter and Craig, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Kathleen; his mother, Mrs. Myrtle E. Richardson of Mt. Rainier, Md., and three sisters.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In June 1946, Richard graduated from McKinley High School in Washington, D. C. At the Naval Academy, he received awards in baseball and football and was a member of the Academy Chapel Choir.

His father Harold Evan Richardson was a retired Commander USNR. In WWI, he attended the W. S. Military Camp in Ft. Myer, Virginia, and became a lieutenant in the Navy. Richard’s mother was Myrtle Elizabeth (Gibbs.)

Richard is buried in California.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook