Richard Lockhart was born in Lima, Ohio, on January 20, 1924. After working as a paper boy and soda jerk during high school in Ft. Wayne, IN, he enrolled at Purdue University where he joined the compulsory ROTC program in 1942. He enlisted in the reserves on December 7, 1942, one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
As a private, Richard Lockhart trained in Anti-Aircraft Artillery at Fort Eustis, Verginia. He volunteered for Infantry service and was assigned to an anti-tank company from the 106th Infantry Division.

		Richard "Dick" Lockhart is the second from left in the back row
		In October 1944, the 106th Division was sent to England and subsequently deployed through France to the Ardennes Forest in Germany. On December 16, 1944 the German offensive later known as the Battle of the Bulge forced the retreat of Lockhart's unit. Just a few days later, out of food and ammunition, their weapons were destroyed and they were forced to surrender to the Germans. Dick Lockhart and his fellow soldiers were sent in overcrowded box cars to STALAG IX-B in the town of Bad Orb for 5 months. They faced bitter cold and severe food shortages. He was beaten by a German guard while on a woodcutting detail as a prisoner of war. Bad Orb was considered one of the worst German POW camps. Many of the Jewish soldiers in the camp were transferred to the infamous Berga concentration camp. They subsisted on thin soup made of turnip tops until they were liberated in April 1945. After the war, Lockhart started a governmental affairs and lobbying company, becoming one of the most influential people in Illinois over the last 60 years. In 1958 he started his own governmental affairs and lobbying company called "Social Engineering Associates Inc." in Chicago, IL. He still works full time at the age of 90.