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<em>James Donald Richardson</em> entered final rest after a long battle with cancer. “Rich,” as he was known by his friends and family, was an appropriate nickname for an individual full of warmth, and rich with integrity and honesty. He was born in Waterloo, Iowa on 9 January 1915, the son of James and Blanche (Bowman) Richardson. His family moved from Iowa to Colorado before finally settling in Alhambra, California. Rich graduated from San Pedro High School in 1931 at the age of 15 and earned the Harvard Alumni Book Award for being the top male graduate of his class. Afterwards, he attended UCLA for three years before enlisting in the Army. He attended the West Point Preparatory School at Fort Winfield Scott, California, where he was designated “most distinguished candidate” for standing first in his class in 1935; and subsequently earned an Army appointment and entered the Academy in July 1935.</p>
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Rich’s years at the Academy were made somewhat easier from previous schooling at UCLA, and enabled him to help others get through. His profile in the 1939 <em>Howitzer</em> reflects upon his many and varied interests: “science, books, tennis, swimming, riding.” The <em>Howitzer</em> also accurately characterized Rich as “a quiet Californian; an avowed progressive, interesting and interested in living; a sound critic; possessing a keen sense of values. Bound ‘to arrive’ but not at the expense of others.” These virtues stayed with Rich throughout his life. Helping others would later be seen in his second career, teaching. His interest in living undoubtedly helped him survive as a prisoner of war in World War II, and was also witnessed during his final illness.</p>
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Following graduation, Rich was stationed briefly at Fort DuPont in Delaware, and in early 1940 married Althea Elizabeth Lotz, a cousin of Walter Lotz, Jr., USMA 1938, who had introduced the two at West Point. Later in 1940, he was assigned with the 803rd Engineering Battalion at Westover Field. In the fall of 1941, the 803rd mobilized to Clark Field in the Philippines, arriving shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines. During the ensuing siege of Corregidor, Rich was wounded and hospitalized when the island fell to the Japanese on 5 May 1942.</p>
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Rich and about 10,000 other Americans and Filipinos, in addition to those that had already been captured on Bataan, became Japanese prisoners of war. Sadly, only a small number would survive the next 39 months under virtually unspeakable conditions and treatment that some call the “Pacific Holocaust.” He spent the majority of his captivity at the infamous Cabanatuan Prison Camp, where at one point during his captivity his weight dropped to 85 pounds due to illness and malnourishment. By the fall of 1944 the Japanese anticipated the Allies liberating the Philippines and decided to move as many American prisoners of war to mainland Japan as possible. Their apparent motive was to preserve the prisoners as potential “bargaining chips” in the event they were forced to negotiate a peace.</p>
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On 13 December 1944, the move from Manila began on what later was termed “the Hell Ships.” Over 1600 American prisoners, including Rich, embarked on what would become one of the most hideous events of the war. Rich’s own words recorded on a VA survey masked the horrid details but provided the following: “I was one of 1,619 prisoners shipped for Japan. The first two ships were sunk, and the third struck a mine which disabled the rudder. The trip lasted about six weeks. About 400 prisoners survived; the rest died of injuries, starvation, dehydration, or exposure to cold.”</p>
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All told, only five members of the Class of 1939 survived captivity and about 70 West Pointers died on the journey to Japan—perhaps the greatest single loss of graduates in any one event.</p>
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Following his liberation by the Soviet army in Mukden, Manchuria, Rich returned home and started a family that produced four children. He was briefly stationed at Eglin Field, and in 1947 began postgraduate work at Cornell University and earned a Master of Science degree in nuclear physics. In 1950 he arrived at Sandia Base, New Mexico for the first of two tours, where during his first post he was involved with programming and as a technical staff supply officer in the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. In 1953 he left Sandia Base for Fort Leavenworth; and in 1954 completed Army Command and General Staff College. His next assignment was in Germany as commanding officer of the Seventh Army Engineer Battalion; and later, he served as a war plans officer in Stuttgart. In 1957 he returned to Sandia Base and served as director of research in the Research and Development Directorate at Headquarters, Field Command, Defense Atomic Support Agency.</p>
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In 1959, Rich retired from the Army to pursue a lifelong dream of teaching and was hired by The Citadel to teach physics. By 1961, he felt a pressing need for additional schooling to aid in his professional development and left The Citadel on an academic fellowship. He returned to Cornell University to pursue a doctorate, having every intention of returning to The Citadel after completing his degree. His doctorate, however, took longer than expected; and realizing his children would soon start college, he accepted a teaching position at the Rochester Institute of Technology and continued working on his doctorate during the summers, which he completed in 1968.</p>
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In 1974 Althea succumbed to cancer. He later married Gertrude (Trudy) Griffin, whose first husband, Jim Oppenheimer (A&M 1935), had been captured at Corregidor with Rich but died during captivity. Rich’s marriage to Trudy marked a new chapter in his life. He retired from teaching and joined her in operating a rental car business in the Washington, DC area. On weekends, he engaged in one of his favorite pastimes, vegetable gardening—a hobby that originated out of necessity during the war. The Washington, DC area also allowed him to renew old acquaintances with the many classmates who also lived in the area. In 1982, Rich and Trudy moved to Burgess, Virginia for several years before settling in San Antonio in 1986 at the Army Residence Community, where again, he enjoyed the fellowship and camaraderie of classmates in the area. It was not long after their arrival in San Antonio that Rich was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer—possibly caused by radiation exposure from some of the nuclear tests he observed during the 1950’s. He fought a gallant battle but ultimately returned “home.”</p>
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Rich was buried at West Point—a place he loved and cherished. He is missed by his family and friends, who were all most fortunate in knowing such a warm and honest individual.</p>