Identified Envelopes
Envelopes identified to Richard W. Douglas - Hq & Hq Finance 83rd Division
Original World War Two Army Covers sent by S/Sgt. R W Douglas, #37213483, to his wife Mrs. Dorothy D. Douglas of 2002 Clay Street, St. Joseph, Missouri.
S/Sgt. Richard W. Douglas
Staff Sergeant
Richard W. Douglas
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Staff Sergeant Richard W. Douglas
Richard Willis Douglas was born on October 30, 1916, in St. Joseph, Missouri to Edith M. Willis (1888-) and Richard LeRoy Douglas (1884–1961).
Richard W. 'Dick' Douglas took basic training at Camp Atterbury. He was on furlough when he married Dorothy June Dillingham on April 22, 1943. During World War II, he proudly served his country as a member of the Finance Department of the 83rd Infantry Division in the European Theatre. For his service in WWII he was awarded, among other decorations, the European African Middle-Eastern Campaign Medal with five Campaign Stars and the Bronze Star Medal.
Richard 'Dick' Douglas died on December 8, 2003 at a St. Joseph hospital. He was a lifelong resident of St. Joseph, Missouri. He was survived by his wife Dorothy (1920-2011).
He was in the finance department and so was not on the front lines. However from talking with him there was still plenty of things that happened. He was on top of a truck travelling with a group of soldiers when a German plane flew over. It didn't fire but a general jumped out of the truck into a ditch and sprained his ankle and the general received some medal of valor for that. Also, my dad was sleeping at night in a fox hole he had dug in the ground and a wild bull ran over the hole with a hoof print on each side. So he was fortunate there also. Finally, my dad wrote my mom every day with baseball scores (not very romantic) and would send his winnings from playing cards which was always positive. But his unit was at the location of the Battle of the Bulge. When the battle broke out all units were overrun and cooks and support people all fought for their lives. My mom stopped getting letters and after about a week of no letters my mom and grandfather were pretty sure he didn't survive. On Christmas day, a goverment official came to the door with a notification which they felt certain was notice of his death, but instead it was a telegram. His unit had been moved out for no apparent reason a day before the Battle of the Bulge broke out and he hadn't been able to write because of the move and the Battle etc. Anyway there could not have been a better Christmas gift for my mom as you might imagine. My dad couldn't be an officer because he was color blind so he couldn't go farther than sargent. He was a great dad and husband and didn't talk much about the War.
My mom and dad debated whether or not to marry right before the War, whether they should with all the uncertain of survival but they were in love and decided to go ahead. My mom travelled to the camps where he was located before he was shipped overseas. After the war, Dad worked for a chemical company for many years.