Name: Charles William Richard Rank: Boatswain Service: Merchant Navy, United States Navy Date of Birth: February 27, 1893 Place of Birth: Wedgeport, Argyle, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: 1917 Age at Enlistment: 24 Height: 5 feet, 9 inches Complexion: Fair / Medium Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Brown Date of Death: March 18, 1925 Age: 32 Cemetery: St. Raymond’s Cemetery, Bronx, Bronx Co., New York Grave: Section 14, Range 16, Grave 109 Charles William Richard was the son of Jean N. Richard (1855–1936), and Mary Ann Reid (1865-1927), and the husband of Mary Margaret (Kennedy) Richards (1893-1960), and the father of Evelyn Marie Richards (1921-2017) and Charles William Richard (1925-1995). Charles’ siblings were Mary Gertrude Richard (1888-1959), Joseph Vincent Richard (1892-1957), Annie Frances Richard McMackin (1895-1993), George Edward Richard (1887-1951), Leonard Simon Richard (1898-1976), Hattie Ella Richard (1905-1991), and Agnes Dionysha Richard (906-1999). Charles’ son, Charles William Richard-Healy, served in the United States Navy during World War II, from May 22, 1943, to January 6, 1946. He was born on December 26, 1925, nine months and 8 days after his father's death in March 1925. He later adopted the surname of his stepfather, Healy. Charles served in the Merchant Navy and the United States Navy during World War I in the United States, Canada and at sea. When Charles registered for the US Draft on June 5, 1917, he was serving as Quartermaster aboard the SS Pequonnock, a cargo steam vessel of the New England Navigation Company. Serving with the United States Navy, Charles was appointed Boatswain on December 6, 1917. On September 27, 1918, Charles was transferred to the Naval Auxiliary Reserve in New York, NY. On October 2, 1918, he was detached from the Reserve in New York and reassigned to the First Naval District, tasked with duties connected to Canadian Drifters, a fleet of small, armed patrol vessels critical to anti-submarine operations along the Atlantic coast and built in Canada during WWI, known as CD-class naval drifters. October 7, 1918, he was detached from Base Headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. Charles reported aboard the Aztec (SP-590), a steam-powered yacht originally built in 1902 and acquired by the Navy in 1917 for wartime service. Aztec was designated flagship of the 1st Naval District and stationed at Boston, Mass. In this role, the vessel made inspection tours of naval bases within the district. She also escorted submarines sailing from Boston to New London, Conn., and British troop ships steaming from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Aztec later became HMCS Beaver. Charles sailed to Shelburne, Nova Scotia aboard the Aztec, where he was ordered to report to the Section Commander for active duty on Canadian Drifter #41. The CD-class naval drifters, constructed in Canada, played a vital role in WWI maritime defense. Charles died in New York City on March 19, 1925, at the age of 32, in the North River near the foot of Pier 26. At the time, he was serving as a tugboat captain. His shift had begun at 4 p.m. at Pier 39 on the East River, where he took command of Transfer No. 5. Throughout the day, the vessel made stops at various commercial locations, with the final scheduled pickup in Hoboken. However, due to heavy congestion at the dock, the lighter could not be towed. The tug then proceeded to Pier 26. Just before entering the slip, Charles, stationed in the pilot house, asked a deckhand to take over briefly while he went below deck. The deckhand successfully piloted the tug into the slip and moored it to a barge. With the engines shut down, the vessel remained still for several minutes. At approximately 12:40 a.m., the deckhand heard a splash and saw something fall into the water and quickly disappear beneath the surface. An alarm was raised, and it was soon discovered that Charles was missing. His body was later recovered near the spot where the disturbance had been observed. He was interred at the St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

Sources: findagrave military and family records