John B. Richardson, Jr. 

Memorial Day Testimonial

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Cave Hill Cemetery for Sailors Memorial

   We held a memorial service at the Cave Hill Cemetery on a beautiful sunny day in Louisville, KY.  Find below, a Memorial Day Testimonial, written by deceased past USS DuPage Shipmate and Association President John Richardson, Jr., read by his surviving Wife Vietta Richardson.

Every year on Memorial Day my extended family has a service at the family cemetery in Southeastern Kentucky.  For the last several years, John led that service.  In his remarks, he never failed to pay homage to his DuPage family and the shipmates who gave their lives while serving on her.  Today, in honor of John, I want to share with you his thoughts from the last sermon he preached in May 2008.  These are John's words:

"I was sworn into the United States Navy on the first of May 1944.  I was a farm boy from Cecilia, Kentucky who traveled half way around the world and had experience that I have remembered for the rest of my life.  I was discharged from the Navy on the 21st of May 1946.  All I gave for my Country was 2 years and 21 days.....just a little time...a brief pause....in a long and eventful life.

Thirty-five of my shipmates gave everything they had....their whole future...on the 10th of January 1945 when a Japanese suicide bomber crashed into our ship.  The next day, their bodies were planted in the China Sea where they remain till this day.

Memorial Day belongs to my shipmates and to others like them who have died in the service of our Country.  This is the day when a grateful nation pauses to thank them for giving everything they had to keep us free.

But we do more than remember on this day.  We take time off from work and go on picnics.  We watch the "Indy".  We go to the beach or the pool.  We celebrate.

And somehow, I think those men and women would understand that we do more than remember them.  I knew some of those who died, and the guys I know would understand.

They would have like a sunny beach and a cold beer and a hot babe in a bikini, too.  They would have enjoyed packing the kids, the cooler, and tine inflatable raft into the car and heading for the lake.  They would have enjoyed staying home, cutting the grass, and cooing some steaks on the grill with their friends.

But they didn't get the chance.  They died on the deck of the DuPage,  They drowned in the surf an Omaha Beach, or they fell in the jungles of Guadalcanal.  They bought the farm on Heartbreak Ridge.  They froze in the ice and snow of the Bulge or Valley Forge.  They were shot in Beirut or at Gettysburg.

The died so we could go fishing, so a Dad could teach his little girl how to swim, or toss a baseball to his son in the backyard while the charcoal was getting hot.  One soldier died so his buddy could get in the station wagon and take the family shopping.  Maybe, get some ice cream on the way home.

The would like it that we take a few minutes this think about them, but they didn't die so that we might spend the rest of our lives in grief.  The would like it that after this service, we will go down the hill, across the creek to the community, and spend some time eating chicken and dumplings together.

So, my shipmate who sleep in the China Sera, today I'll remember the deal we made, "If I buy the farm, drink a beer for me."

I'll do it for you guys.  I'll drink a beer for you today, and just briefly, I'll think of you.

I won't let your memory spoil the day.  I'll take you with me as I live it.  Rather than mourning your death, I'll celebrate the life you made possible for me.

This Bud's for you, Brother!!!"

John loved his DuPage shipmates.  Finding out at the 2003 Falls River reunion made a huge difference in him.  After he found you, he no longer felt like he was the only person in the world who remembered the experiences you all had half way around the world from your homes and loved ones.  He would be so pleased to know that you took the time to come here to honor him.  If he were here, he would say "Don't let my memory spoil your day, think of me and take me with you as you celebrate.

The words of John Burch Richardson, Jr. recited by his Wife Vietta Richardson