10. | Clarence Lester Richmond, Sr was born on 30 Nov 1895 in Bradley County, Tennessee, USA (son of Jacob Rogers Richmond and Sarah Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bacon); died on 25 Jan 1981 in Cleveland, Bradley County, Tennessee, USA; was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery, Cleveland, Bradley County, Tennessee, USA. Other Events:
- Cause of Death: Congestive Heart Failure
- Military: Feb 1918, Parris Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA; Marines basic training
- Military: Between 17 Feb 1918 and 16 Feb 1922, France & Germany; U.S. Marines active and reserve dury. Most notably the Battle of Somme-Py (Blanc Mont), where he won the Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre
- Military: Between Dec 1918 and Jun 1919, Segendorf, Neuwied, Palatinate; "The Watch On The Rhine", after the armistice
- Occupation: Between 1924 and 1962, Bradley County, Tennessee, USA; Insurance Broker
Notes:
My grandfather, Clarence Richmond, kept a diary during his time in the U.S. Marines during World War 1 - including his time on the battlefront. He then expanded it into a memoir that tells quite a remarkable story, and has several poignant passages. In 1997, I published it online at http://www.robinrichmond.com/wardiary/
He arrived at the front toward the end of the epic Battle of Belleau Wood, earned the Distinguished Service Cross and other medals at the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, and participated in the decisive Meuse-Argonne offensive, which culminated a brutal crossing of the Meuse River on the last night of the war.
His diary and other artifacts of his time in the war are on display at the Museum of Five Points in Cleveland, Tennessee.
The memoir is quoted (among other places) in a description of the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge at http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/bm1.htm
The passage from my grandfather's memoir that is, to me, the most poignant and memorable is about a battle on November10, 1918 - the last night of World War 1 - when the 5th Marines were asked to take the East bank of the Meuse River under very heavy fire from the Germans stationed on the hills above the river. (See www.robinrichmond.com/wardiary/diary20.htm ) He reveals the desperation and carnage of the night without hyperbole, and waxes eloquently on the controversy of requiring soldiers to engage in a difficult battle even after the cease-fire was negotiated, but before it went into effect. He also noted dryly that, as he prepared for that battle, "for the millionth time, I agreed with Gen. Sherman about war".
That passage is especially memorable because, in 2012, I went on a remarkable World War 1 - themed tour of Belgium and France that featured the exploits of the U.S. Marines. When I signed up for the tour, I learned that the guide was Mike Hanlon, a WW1 historian who had contacted me at least ten years previously when he first found my grandfather's memoir online. It turned out that he was using the memoir as a primary source for his detailed itinerary. Visiting the Nov 10 crossing site was a key stop on the tour - though none of us (Mike included) knew exactly how to reach the site by road. When we arrived in the vicinity of the crossing, our 16-passenger bus bounced through farm fields and a forest as we search for the crossing site. When we finally saw the river, we got out of the bus for a better look, and I read aloud the words that my grandfather had written about that battle. As we got back on the bus, Mike told me "When I planned this trip, I intended for someone to read that passage to the group, but I had no idea whatsoever that it might be read by Clarence Richmond's grandson."
- Robin Richmond
Buried:
GRid=39692853; portrait in military dress uniform; Very simple in-ground marker in family plot, plus an in-ground military marker with the inscription "Cpl US Marine Corps, World War I"
Clarence married Edith Kuykendall Hutcheson on 18 Jul 1923 in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, USA. Edith (daughter of Leander Travis (L.T.) Hutcheson, Sr and Olive Irene Kuykendall) was born on 10 Mar 1898 in Pikeville, Bledsoe County, Tennessee, USA; died on 9 Jul 1996 in Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, USA; was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery, Cleveland, Bradley County, Tennessee, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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