VERSAILLES – The Fort GreeneVille Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution honored the family of John Wayne Richard before a large crowd at the Versailles Vet Club.
John Wayne Richard was born on Monday, October 17th, 1949, to Leroy and Dorotha Richard. He lived his entire life in Versailles, Ohio, and was a 1968 Versailles High School graduate. He was the third of five children, having an older brother and sister, Jim and Jane, and younger siblings, a sister and brother, Kathy and Fred.
Private First Class John Wayne Richard served honorably in the United States Army with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry, A Company. He died in Long An Province, southwest of Saigon, on the south bank of the Vam Co Dong River on May 21, 1969.
Kathy Richard McPherson, John’s younger sister, traveled from Michigan to accept the Vietnam Commemorative “In Memory Of” certificate and lapel pin for the sacrifices they endured when their loved one didn’t return home from Vietnam.
“On behalf of a grateful Nation and the Department of Defense, we honor your patriotic service and the significant sacrifices made by you and your family for the cause of freedom and democracy during the Vietnam War,” said DAR Regent Penny Weaver. “Thank you for being an enduring inspiration and example of duty, valor, honor, and dignity for the citizens of the United States of America. Our Nation is forever indebted to you and extends its deepest respect and admiration. Thank you for the sacrifices you made that enabled your loved one to serve.”
Kathy, the last remaining sibling, took time to talk about the loss of her older brother when she was 16 years of age.
“I’m the only one left,” said McPherson. “Heartbreaking. It made me realize that John, as an adult, John never got to make a decision; he made one decision, and that was to join the Army because he was a Patriot. He believed in our country, but he never got to live – he’s still 19, he was a baby, he was a boy, he was just a little boy. He had never been out of Versailles other than a couple of trips. It was horrible, it was sad, it drove my father to his grave, and my dad died four years later.”
“My mom was strong and stoic. She had to keep us together, but her heart was forever broken. It damaged my brother Jim. I know Jim, being the older brother he felt responsible; my sister Jane, being the oldest girl and in between Jim and John’s ages she mothered John. John was shy and insecure.
“I lost my son to a fatal heart attack when he was 29. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful young man but then I understood because that is what made me buck up and say I have another son to live for and he needs to feel the value of his life and I did, I had to buck up and make it.”
“I didn’t realize death was final. I was 16 when he died. I didn’t realize death was final until he was gone, and for years, it wasn’t real. One day, I was driving my son, who was 12 at the time, and I was helping him with his paper route. As a kid, I always helped John on his paper route, and so he was running down the street after he had delivered some papers and being all goofy and acting like a 12-year-old, and he looked so much like John, and it just took my breath.”
“We talked a lot about John. Holidays were never the same, such as Christmas and Thanksgiving; nothing was ever the same. We were all so injured and hurt that we couldn’t come together and talk about it without tears and anger and all of that. We suffered as a family; we suffered terribly after losing John.”
“With this last couple of weeks knowing that this was happening, all I could think of was how proud Dad and Mom would be and Jim and Jane and my little brother Fred, they would all be so proud, and I am. It’s a heavy weight to carry because I am the only one left of my whole family; I’m it.”
“Tom Hole brought John home from Vietnam. My mother asked the Army because he was the last person from home he had seen in Vietnam from here, this little town, and he ran into him on the streets of Saigon. They went out and shared a beverage or two, which was wonderful. Tom was in the Honor Guard, and he was wonderful.”
“I’m very proud of what John did; his significance is so important, and whenever I see people here like this that remember John, it does my heart good; it’s good for my soul,” Kathy concluded.
