Name: George Edward Richard Rank: Private Service Number: 3191627 Service: Company C, 301st Infantry Regiment, 76th Division; Company B, 59th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, United States Army Date of Birth: October 28, 1887 Place of Birth: Wedgeport, Argyle, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: May 27, 1918 Place of Enlistment: Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: 247 Warren St, Roxbury, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 30 Marital Status: Unknown Next of Kin: Grace Bachelder (Friend), 184 Walnut Ave, Roxbury, Massachusetts Date of Discharge: August 6, 1919 Date of Death: December 22, 1951 Age: 64 Cemetery: Riverside Cemetery, Winchendon, Worcester Co., Massachusetts George Edward Richard was the son of Jean N. Richard (1855–1936) and Mary Ann Reid (1865-1927), and the husband of Grace Vina (Bachelder) Richard (1884-1950). George’s siblings were Mary Gertrude Richard (1888-1959), Joseph Vincent Richards (1892-1957), Charles William Richard (1893-1925), Annie Frances Richard McMackin (1895-1993), Leonard Simon Richard (1898-1976), Hattie Ella Richard (1905-1991), and Agnes Dionysha Richard (906-1999). When George completed his U.S. Draft registration on June 5, 1917, he requested exemption on account of a weak heart. Despite this physical limitation, George went on to serve in the U.S. Army during World War I, enlisted just under a year later in May of 1918. George began his military service with Company C of the 301st Infantry Regiment, known as “Boston’s Own” for its large contingent of men from the Greater Boston area. He sailed to Europe aboard the SS Cedric departing New York in July 1918. As part of the U.S. Army’s 76th Division—nicknamed the Liberty Bell Division—the 301st primarily operated as a training and replacement unit, seeing fewer combat deployments than front-line divisions. The 76th Division was designated a Depot Division after arriving in France in July 1918. Instead of engaging in front-line combat, the 301st and other units were used to train, equip, and forward replacements to other combat divisions. Sometime later during the war, though the exact date is unknown, he was transferred to Company B of the 59th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, known as the Ivy Division. The 59th motto was, “Let ’em have it”, and the 4th Division’s was, “Steadfast and Loyal”. A soldier who arrived in Europe in July 1918, and was subsequently assigned to the 59th Infantry, would have participated in several major operations during the final phase of World War I. The regiment was actively engaged in the Aisne-Marne Offensive (July-August 1918), where it fought near Château-de- Diable north of the Vesle River, repelling German forces in a notable engagement involving enemy troops disguised in American uniforms. In September 1918, the 59th took part in the St. Mihiel Offensive, the first large-scale operation led solely by American forces, aimed at reducing the German salient in Lorraine. Later that month, the regiment joined the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest and most costly campaign for US forces in the war, which continued until the Armistice on November 11, 1918. These operations marked the regiment’s principal combat contributions and reflected the broader strategic shift toward American-led offensives in the war’s final months. After the war, George was employed as a motion picture projectionist from the 1920’s until the 1950’s. During this time, he worked at the Capitol Theatre in Winchendon, Massachusetts, which opened in 1927 and remained active through the 1950’s. George died December 22, 1951, at the age of 64. He was interred at the Riverside Cemetery in Winchendon.

Sources: findagrave military and family records